


Savicorns & Fireflies

by RainbowPages0618



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Complete, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 15:08:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17748194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowPages0618/pseuds/RainbowPages0618
Summary: A new creature appears at Malfoy Manor, causing the curious to come looking. Draco must seek help from the Head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures: Hermione Granger. In order to save the creature and find its place in the Wizarding World, they must overcome the past and help one another.





	1. Chapter 1

     A small boreal owl swooped in through an open window, bringing in a gust of wind and sending papers flying around the little grey office. He landed haphazardly in a box labeled "inbox", scattering more objects off the oak desk.

     "Oh, Gerald!"

     Hermione rushed to pick up the pages before they mixed out of order and waved her wand to repair her broken picture frame - again. Gerald ignored the mess and held out his leg, showing a folded up letter.

     "You are the most clumsy owl I have ever seen," she told him, placing the papers neatly on the desk before turning to his outstretched leg. The letter was from Charlie Weasley, though she did not need his signature to tell her that. Gerald was also the fastest owl she knew, making trips to and from Romania with ease.

       Hermione unfolded the parchment and settled into her chair to read. She grabbed an owl treat from a small jar and absently handed it over. Gerald took it happily and flew to a perch by the window.

       Charlie wrote to ask her opinion on closing down the breeding program of the Romanian Longhorn. Apparently, the law enforcement had finally got the poachers under control and the program was flourishing. They had so many hatchlings, the area was at risk of over breeding.

       Hermione looked over to her collage of photos in the wall as she pondered how to answer. Charlie waved at her from a pile of these hatchlings; the babies crawling all over him. She smiled, remembering a trip she and Ron had taken to Romania a while back. Charlie had told her all about the program, even introducing her to other handlers and specialists. The dragons were Ron's favorite bit. She had to admit they were fascinating. The trip had inspired her to pick up a book on dragon breeding and handling, which was still very much illegal in Britain.

       Hermione grabbed a quill and spare piece of parchment. She was well into her third paragraph when a knock sounded on the door.

       "Come in," she called out, not breaking stride in her sentence. The door opened and someone plopped down gracefully into the chair across from her. She set the quill aside, thinking of finishing her letter later. She glanced up, a polite hello stuck to her lips.

       Draco Malfoy sat comfortably in her chair, looking put out for having to wait to be acknowledged. She made a show of straightening papers, placing her letter on top.

       "Malfoy," she greeted evenly. "What brings you to the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?"

       "It seems I have a tiny problem at the Manor that needs seeing to."

       Hermione waited for him to elaborate. He simply looked at her, drawing out the silence with a knowing smile. She resisted rolling her eyes.

       "What is the problem?"

       "It seems a creature has come onto the property by unknown means and taken residence."

       Hermione nodded, her hand already reaching for the correct form. "I can have Creevey -"

       "No, I'd rather not deal with lower management."

       Hermione clamped her jaw shut, grinding her teeth a little, and closed the drawer. Of course he was going to make this difficult. "We have a way of doing things around here, Malfoy. If you want to report an unauthorized beast, you have to go through the correct process."

       "Even if said beast doesn't exist?" He leaned forward. "Tell me, Granger: what is the process for that?"

       Hermione placed her hands in the desk, exasperated. "What are you talking about?"

       "I mean, a creature that doesn't seem to be on any records or in any book or listed in the wizarding archives in any way."

       She paused at this, her eyebrows knitting together. She racked her brain for how to go about such a procedure but - surprisingly enough - came up empty. Surely, there was a method to new beings: some form or list of paperwork that needed filing, possibly a record of the creature's habits and abilities. In all her years in the department, though, Hermione had never came across a new creature. Rare ones, yes. Some that were thought to have been extinct reappearing, yes. But never new, not to her knowledge.

       What about Nargles? Her mind whispered. Hermione had just started working for the Ministry when Luna had brought hard proof of them to the Head of the department. Maybe she could floo the woman and ask her how they had went about it. But, no...now that she gave it more thought, she knew Nargles had already existed. Luna had even found old parchments and an ancient book that mentioned them, much to everyone's surprise.

       Her inner musings were interrupted with a hmph. Hermione glanced up, all but forgotten Malfoy sitting there. She straightened her back and gave him hard look.

       "And you are sure this creature hasn't ever been recorded? Even the slightest mention could give us somewhere to start."

       Malfoy arched an eyebrow at the word "us" but did not comment.

       "I have scoured many possible leads with no luck. The Malfoy name still holds favors among some, but this beast doesn't seem to be known about any wizarding circles, or text, or listings. Even Professor Grubbly-Plank had never heard tale of it."

       "Well, what is it?"

       Malfoy extended a vanilla envelope she did not notice before. Inside was pages of handwritten notes, different references for common plants, and cross references to unicorns and other widely known creatures. What caught her attention, however, was a polaroid picture.

       What appeared to be a deer glided across its front. But it was no deer Hermione had ever seen before. The creature seemed to shimmer as it moved, its fur shining without casting light. A long skinny tail trailed behind it, ending in a tuft of hair that swished this way and that. On top of its round, apple-shaped head was a small horn not unlike that of a unicorn. Big fluffy ears turned towards the camera and black doleful eyes searched the bushes.

       Scrawled under the image was a date and the words "third sighting". At least he was being thorough.

       "We can start by going through the Ministry library and databases. From there we may have to branch out, possibly look into different countries."

       As she spoke, Hermione took notes on his notes, prefering to have her own copy. He watched with a smirk that she ignored.

       "I know a few species to look into that may have similar genes, your unicorn theory included. Until then, keep a close eye and record any further behaviors that might hint at something: What magical features does it possess? Is the shinning a defence mechanism or a way to lure prey? What is the horn used for?"

       She looked up from her parchment. "For now, we will mark it as a single creature on the verge of extinction. That will give it the protection it needs until we can classify it."

       "What do we do with it until it is classified?"

       "What do you mean?" She had just told him what they were going to do. Wasn't he listening? She felt a twang of annoyance returning. It was like him to ignore her, even as he came asking for her help.

       "What I mean, Granger, is where are we putting this creature until it is classified."

       "Where it is," she stated matter-of-factly. "I have no intention of moving it until we can say whether doing so is safe." He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, giving him a stern look usually reserved for Ron.

       "Honestly, Malfoy, think about it. If we attempt to capture the beast before knowing what it's capable of, we could be endangering not only the animal but also those around it. This thing could be strong enough to blow up all of England for all we know. You can't judge it based on how it looks."

       At that, Malfoy leaned back in the chair and scowled. Hermione handed him back the envelope.

       "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot to get together. Please keep me informed if anything changes."

       Seeing as he was dismissed, Draco stood and walked out without so much as a thank you. As the door closed, Hermione ran her hands over the top of her hair, pulling it slightly to release some tension.

     An owl hooted. She nearly jumped out of her skin. She had forgotten Gerald with all the excitement of a new discovery. He swooped over to the desk, knocking over her quill holder, and pecked hopefully at the jar of dried owl treats. Hermione smiled at him, glad to have someone pleasant to share the rest of her work day with.


	2. Chapter 2

    Draco circled the property again. Maybe the thing had left.

     _Or maybe its damn good at camouflage_ , he thought bitterly. _So much for getting an aerial view._

    He turned his broom around.

    As he landed on the patio, Narcissa strolled through the double glass doors.

    "Did you find it?" She asked, settling herself into a chair under the umbrella. Draco plopped down beside her. Dotty, their House-Elf, ran out with a serving tray of lemonade and cut cucumber sandwiches.

    "Thank you," Narcissa bit out.

    Dotty's eyes widened at Narcissa's words and she scuttled away with a low curtsy.

    A new law had been passed by the Ministry for the equality of human-like creatures. Centaurs now had the right to land or reservations. Werewolves could (supposedly) find employment without discrimination. And House-Elves were now to be considered servants with pay and time off instead of the slaves they once were.

    Draco could only imagine which witch petitioned for that law; he remembered S.P.E.W. buttons littering the trash bins in the boy's lavatories quite often. Still, it was slightly amusing to watch his mother become accustomed to such a ridiculous idea. He hid a smile behind his glass.

    Narcissa pursed her lips and turned expectantly to her son, reminding him of the question and his foul mood.

    "No, I haven't found it yet. Seems like the creature disappeared since my last sighting. One can only hope."

    "Hmm." Narcissa bit into a sandwich.

    Draco looked out to the garden, absently wondering about taking a walk. Maybe be would have better luck on the ground.

    His attention was brought back when a giant black owl landed silently on the vacant chair beside him. It extended it's leg to drop the Daily Prophet onto the table. Narcissa paid him and it left as silently as it came.

    Draco picked up the paper, shaking a bug loose from the top. He scanned the Quidditch page before turning to the obituaries. It had become habit to look.

    Narcissa did not keep close tabs on Lucius, though Draco knew she looked too. She had kept out of Azkaban by the skin of her nose, merely enduring house arrest and magical limitations for five years post-Voldemort. During those years, she had grown apart from her husband, who had been sent to Azkaban almost immediately. Unfortunately for the Malfoy family, he could not deny the many proofs of his being a Death Eater.

    Draco felt a twinge of relief and folded the paper back. His mother would want to look in private, like she always did.

    Not wanting to draw out her wait, Draco downed his lemonade and stood.

    "I am going to look some more," he informed her. She merely nodded, pretending not to look at the paper, though her fingers inched towards it instead of the sandwich plate. He bent down to kiss her cheek and strolled off. Behind him, the paper rattled as it was opened again.

~*~*~*~

     "Wait. You mean the ferret came crawling to you for help?" Ron barked out a laugh.

    Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really, Ron. He didn't crawl. Besides, it is part of my job. He didn't have much choice, now did he?"

    Ron's smile did not waiver as he looked around the kitchen. "Well, yeah, but come on. Malfoy asking part of the Golden Trio for help. That's almost as rich as him asking Harry himself."

    Harry looked mildly concerned for a moment as he had missed part of the conversation. James was sitting on his lap and was trying, very insistently, to steal his father's glasses.

    "I think Hermione has a bigger problem than who is asking for her help," Ginny cut in, reaching to take James. She sat down at the table and waved her wand to summon his baby food.

    "How _are_ you gonna figure this one out, 'Mione?" Harry asked, straightening his glasses.

    She sighed. "Honestly, I'm not too sure. I had mentioned looking through the Ministry library, so I guess I can start there. Maybe I can find some sort of lead."

    Ron jumped onto the counter. "You could check the Ministry pensieves. I bet they have some memories stored on creatures and stuff." Ginny threw him a look and he slid back down.

    Hermione's eyebrows knitted together as she mulled over the idea. "You know, that may actually work. Ron, you're brilliant sometimes!"

    Ron's face and ears burned bright red but he stood straighter, his chest puffed out just a bit.

    Hermione barely registered any of this. Her mind was already miles away. She jumped up.

    "I have to go."

    She ran to kiss James on top of the head and ran down the hall to apparite on the front step.

    "Don't forget about dinner on Friday!!" Ginny hurriedly called after her. Hermione waved a hand to show she had heard and closed the door behind her.

~ * ~

     Sixteen hours and many memories later, Hermione pulled herself from the pensieve yet again. She fell back into her chair and quickly picked up her quill. She was exhausted. The memories were interesting, some even chaotic, but none were very helpful so far. Parchment scattered across her desk, each jumbled with quick notes, paragraphs referencing creatures, or tid bit information she had found interesting.

    The quill slipped from her hand and her eyes closed without her realizing. Ink trailed down the page. Her head nodded back, her bushy unkept hair giving her cushion. She slept like this for several minutes.

    The door opening woke her. For the second unexpected time, Draco Malfoy walked through. He cocked an eyebrow at her appearance but spared her the snide words. She rubbed her eyes roughly with the palm of her hands, thinking she was still out of it. He stretched out in the chair across from her.

    "Early morning?" He asked casually.

    "Late night, more like. Malfoy, what are you doing here?"

    "I thought it best for us to get an early start, but I see you already began without me."

    "I wasn't expecting...I'm sorry, but what are you on about? Us? What exactly are _we_ doing?"

    Malfoy heaved a sigh and began speaking slowly, as if he had to spell it out for her. "The Ministry library. Our search for information on the creature currently invading my home. Trying to identify and, more importantly, remove it."

    Hermione raked her hands over the top of her hair. "I hadn't realized that you were under the misimpression of searching the library with me. Do you have Ministry clearance?"

    His eyebrows furrowed. She closed her eyes briefly, fighting both a headache and sleep.

    "You do realize, don't you, that not just any wizard off the street can waltz into the Ministry's private collection of information at any given moment? There are ways of doing things here, to keep order. Ways that you seem to assume beneath you. You need proper authorization to access the library."

    Malfoy leaned back and folded his hands in his lap, unfazed. "Then give me clearance."

    Hermione opened her mouth and closed it. She did have the ability to grant him access, given the specifics of the case. And having another person looking would make things go faster. She simply could not think of a way to refuse his request, as annoying as it was for him to just assume charge of everything.

    She ground her teeth, a habit her parents found infuriating.

    "Okay, fine." She began clearing her desk. She used the tip of her wand to scoop the memory back into its bottle and placed the bottle with the rest. She blew on the spilled ink and rolled her parchments up, placing all of it in a drawer. Lastly, ignoring Malfoy's exasperated look, she carefully picked up the pensieve and placed it on the shelving unit behind her desk. She purposely took her time with each task, wanting to annoy him as much as his presence was annoying her.

    Finding nothing else to do, she ran her hands over her hair again and rolled her shoulders. The clock on the wall read seven-thirty. She turned back to him.

    "Before we do anything, I am going to have breakfast. And a large mug of strong tea." She muttered the last bit to herself as she went for her purse.

    Malfoy stood, pulling his button up shirt to smooth the wrinkles. "Good. I will join you." He did not wait for an answer but strolled out, leaving her gaping after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	3. Chapter 3

Malfoy raked his hands through his hair in frustration. "How the devil are we supposed to find a creature that doesn't bloody exist?"

After three days of searching, they seemed to have hit another dead end, though she did not know how. The Ministry library stretched on for miles. They could not have looked through the whole thing already, but every book they opened seemed to take them further from their research rather than closer.

Hermione closed her book, equally annoyed. "We ask someone who knows creatures." 

Malfoy glanced up. Apparently, he had not expected her to answer.

"What?"

Hermione placed her book among the many stacked to the side. Really, they had to have half the library right here. She was surprised the table did not groan in protest.

"We find someone who knows a thing or two about creatures. Someone who has worked in the field with them instead of searching through books that don't seem to be doing any good." She huffed, looking over the little bit of notes they did find, but still coming up short. Usually the answers were always waiting in a book for her; one just had to know where to look.

"Surely, you're not talking about that big oaf of a groundskeeper?" Malfoy sneered.

Hermione slammed the notes down, and glared at him, heat rising in her face. "No, I am not, you git. And if you expect me to help in any way, you will refrain from speaking about my friends like that."

A streak of emotion crossed his face. She hoped he was remembering third year.

Like a toddler pouting, he leaned back in his seat, arms folded and scowl in place. "If not him, then to who are you referring?"

"Luna Lovegood."

Malfoy's brows came together. "Who?"

"A friend from Hogwarts who just happens to run about chasing strange creatures with Rolf Scamander."

His eyebrows shot up, clearly impressed before realization clicked.

"You mean Looney the Ravenclaw girl whose head was always shoved in the Quibbler?"

Hermione bristled. "The Quibbler is a very respectable paper, I'll have you know! Luna's father is cheif editor and works hard to find the truth in his stories."

Hermione felt odd defending the old man; she was still quite sore at him for trying to hand Harry over to Voldemort years ago, though she knew his reasons. 

Malfoy, however, was not buying it. He gave a pointed look to Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet, which sat next to her mug of tea. She ignored him and continued.

"Luna has made a name for herself since leaving Hogwarts, especially among the Magical Creature Society. She is very well known for her travels with Rolf, unravelling new beasts and beings all around the world. She even rediscovered Knargles, creatures previously thought to be figment of imagination. I can show you the documentation if you'd like."

She calmly picked up her tea and brought it to her lips only to grimace and put it back down. She felt just in defending Luna, since she herself had doubted her so often before.

Now she relished the oppurtunity to talk to her friend and find out her input on such a fascinating, if not difficult, case.

~*~*~*~*~

Back in her office, Granger took a small container of floo powder and sprinkled some on the fire.

Draco remained doubtful but did not say anything as she stuck her head in. He always thought it odd - almost humorous - the way witches and wizards left their bums in the air to talk. Ridiculous, really. Though there was something to be said about plum slacks. His eyes trailed slowly down her backside.

Heat rose to his cheeks as he realized what he was doing.  _ Great Salazar! Goggling Granger. What's next? Kissing the Weasette? _ He burried himself into one of the books they had brought up.

"Luna? Luna, are you in?"

Granger waited a moment then pulled her head out. There was no reply. She crossed her arms.

"Maybe I should owl instead. There's really no telling if she's home or when-"

"Hello, Hermione."

Granger gave a small jump and turned around. Draco leaned over to look around her. A small head peered dreamily through the fire.

"Luna. Hi. I thought you might be out."

"No. Rolf and I were looking in the attic for Chyropeera. We thought we heard some screeching last week but you know they only come out when the moon is wanning, so we thought it best to wait..."

Draco tuned the rest out as she droned on about the creature she thought they had. He had never really heard the woman talk before and found her airy tones a little grating.

"Are you coming for a visit?" She asked suddenly. "You could help us find him. It would be really nice to have another set of eyes, if we can see him that is. You know they sometimes become transparent when directly looked upon. It really is fasinating, so long as he don't blind us with his saliva. That would be unpleasant."

"Actually, Luna, I - that is to say, we -" She gestured behind her. " - need your help."

The woman's face turned towards Draco but she displayed no emotion.

"Hello, Draco Malfoy."

Draco did not know she knew his name and to hear it from her with such familiarity was odd.

"Hello."

"What do you need help with?"

Granger told her about the deer-like creature and their almost nonexistent case.

"You see, we just don't have enough to go by. We have already exhausted our unicorn theory and it does not seem to match up to any other lore from the wizarding or muggle world. To go by its genus could work if we knew what it would be categorized as. Is it from the Cervidea family or the Monokeros family? Maybe neither."

As she spoke, Granger folded her arms and tapped her fingers to her elbow. Her words came out fast and exasperated. Luna Lovegood listened with a serene look.

Draco found himself listening too. He realized, with sudden insight, that while they hadn't found exactly what they wanted, they had actually crossed out a few dead ends. Maybe the research was working after all.

Granger, however, did not come to the same conclusion. Her lips were pursed a little in a small pout. Her eyes burned in anger. Her hair, if at all possible, seemed to fluff up.

"You should go see it."

Luna Lovegood's voice drifted up, cutting Granger off midrant.

"He has tried looking for it already." Her fingers quit tapping and she raised a hand in the air, gestering as she spoke. She was a lot more animated than Draco had known. He always pegged her for a stick in the mud that was too tightly sprung. "A few glimpses here and there aren't doing us any better than the library did-"

"Hmm. Yes, I quite agree. Camping out is a wonderful thing when searching, though. You can find many interesting things about the creature."

Granger blinked.

"You mean go back to the manor?"

"Yes. We really didn't get to see much of the place while we were there. I imagine they have lovely gardens."

Granger cut her eyes at in Draco's direction. He did not miss the slight tug at her left sleeve.

"Luna, I don't know if that's such a good idea. I mean camping to find creatures works nicely for you and Rolf but -"

"You can't move from the past if you don't face it."

Draco's head whipped towards the fire at the blunt reply. An uneasy feeling crept into his stomach, swirling with regret as memories flashed through his head. He glanced at Granger.

Pain marked her features and she stared into the fire without seeming to see Lovegood. Suddenly her face became hard. She closed her eyes for a second and sighed.

"Maybe you're right."

"What?"

   The word was out before Draco could stop it. Both witches turned towards him. He cleared his throat and tried again.

   "You want to camp out in my backyard to find this thing? Are you sure about this?"

   Granger raised her eyebrows and gave him a mocking look, though her eyes twitched nervously back to Lovegood.

   "What's wrong, Malfoy? Afraid to get your trousers dirty?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	4. Chapter 4

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her son's attempt to find anything in the mess that was the attic. She had followed him up, asking questions to why he needed the tent in the first place. He merely answered that he was going to camp to find the creature, even if it took all week. Draco carefully left off that a certian witch would be joining him. He was not too sure how his mother would take it.

He raised his wand again.

" _ Accio _ tent." Something budged in the corner, he was sure.

When Narcissa had been under house arrest, she had insisted on going through the Manor and storing anything that could possibly be linked to Voldemort's rise. She did not want an Auror poking their head in for their monthly inspection and trying to pin the family for something wicked. Draco figured the tent had been stored because of the World Quiddich Cup and the riot that had come about after.

His cheeks burned a little as he recalled the nasty things he had said to Granger in the woods that night. He  _ did _ tell her to get going though. For all his picking, he did not really want her in the air with the muggles. Now he was about to put her in the same tent where his father had planned said riot. But it couldn't be helped; he really did not have the time to go purchase another tent.

Draco climbed over an old hutch. He heard his mother's sharp intake of breath. Despite being locked from veiwing eyes, these were still Malfoy-Black family heirlooms.

The black tent laid in a folded heap on top an old dresser. A trunk had been thrown carelessly on top of it. He jumped down. The trunk was filled with more heirlooms, weighing it down. Of course.

Draco had left his wand on the other side of the room instead of sticking it in his pocket like he usually did. A moment of idiocy. He rolled up the sleeves of his white button up and heaved on the trunk. It barely budged. He tried again. As he strained, the trunk slowly slid to the other side of the dresser. He huffed and brushed dust off his now grey shirt.

The tent's velvety cover was still smooth and soft, dust barely covering the material. He shook it a little and bundled it under his arm. A beetle flew from the tent, crossing his vision, and landing on a mirror inside the trunk. Sunlight from a small window glinted off the emeralds embedded into the silver frame of the mirror. Draco placed it in his pocket, disturbing the beetle and causing it to fly off.

~*~*~*~

"So...you're going camping with him?"

Harry's question hung in the air as Hermione scooped potatoes onto her plate before passing the bowl down the table.

"Yes, to look for this creature that seems to keep eluding him."

Ron, who was to her left, scowled. Hermione paid him no mind; she was used to his possessive behavior, even though they hadn't been a couple for many years now.

Ginny took the potatoes from Ron. "Well, I think it'll be a fun experience. It will do you some good to get out of the office for once." James threw his small spoon into the air, flinging mushed carrots around the table. Ginny waved her wand, cleaning the mess with ease.

Hermione smiled at her friend. "We can't all go into field work like you and Harry. Some of us actually enjoy sitting behind a desk."

Ginny chuckled in reply and placed the bowl in the middle of the table.

The conversation lulled for a few minutes as everyone enjoyed their food, the only noise coming from the toddler trying to escape his high chair. The trick was the straps that retightened themselves every time he managed to get one loose.

After all had eaten their fill, Kreacher came in with tea and pasteries. His huge eyes were lit with an odd sparkle. Hermione noticed that he hung about at the edge of the table, bringing a cloth to Jame's mouth as Ginny passed around the tea.

Something was up. She looked inquisitively to Harry, but he only smiled and waited. Ginny sat back down, beaming from Hermione to Ron.

"Now, we asked Neville and Luna to join us as well, but Luna and Rolf are in Ireland and Neville had mandrakes to care for. This wasn't a regular Friday night dinner."

Ron's hand paused midair, reaching for a pastry. "What do you mean?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair. Ginny grabbed it and held onto him.

   "We are having another baby!"

   Beside them, James banged his spoon down onto the table. He laughed. Kreacher cleaned up the mess.

"Oh, Ginny, that's amazing! Congratulations!" Hermione jumped up to hug them both. Ron was right behind her, pateries forgotten on the plate. He shook Harry's hand and smiled at his sister.

   James began chattering, not liking that the attention was not on him. Ginny picked him up and hugged him close, excitement shinning from her.

They settled back down to talk about the upcoming addition to the Potter family and what was to be expected. 

Apparently, Hermione's crack about a desk job was right on the galleon. Ginny was moving up from Quidditch Correspondent to Sport's Editor for the Dailey Prophet to have a safer, more secure job for their growing family. One stray bludger could be fatal.

As for Harry, he was finally accepting McGonagall's offer for Defense Against the Dark Arts. They both figured it was time to settle down a little bit. Life had been exciting enough for them, anyways.

Ginny cuddled James close upon saying this, darkness creeping into the conversation as they all remembered the years preceeding the Second Wizard War. Even Kreacher seemed troubled for a moment as he excused himself back to the kitchen.

"But life has a way of balancing out," Ginny stated brightly, her hand going to her still small belly.

   Hours later, Hermione apperated back to her flat. She unlocked the door, still smiling slightly at her friends' joyous news. Crookshanks came trotting down the hall, screeching loudly at her arrival. She bent down and burried her face in his fur, snuggling into him. He purred.

   They made their way to the living room, where Hermione dropped her purse onto a plush chair. She slid Crookshanks out of her arms and went to gather things for a shower.

   She looked around with new eyes as she went. Her usually cozy home seemed bare and one sided tonight. Though she was happy for Harry and Ginny, she also could not help but to feel a little lonely. A second child. And she couldn't even keep a satisfying relationship.

   She huffed and slammed the bathroom mirror closed harder than she meant to. She did not have time tonight to wallow in self pity. Tomorrow she was going to Malfoy Mannor. A new dread crept over her and she ducked under the steam of the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	5. Chapter 5

Stars faded from a purple sky as the sun rose behind Malfoy Manor. Hermione stood at the edge of the wards, gripping her beaded handbag. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself before stepping forward.

A screech filled the air as the wards shimmered around her. She jumped. Sitting above her on a tall hedge was a white peacock, its long tail drapped down the side. It turned its head to glare at her.

_ Great. Not two feet in and the residents are already behaving like pests. _

   She glared back, knowing that it was just an animal and she was being childish.

"A little rude, isn't it, to enter someone's home and antagonize their pets?"

Hermione looked up to see Malfoy strolling down the walk. His hands were shoved into the pockets of dark jeans. Apparently he, like her, decided to dress comfortably for this little expedition.

"If people didn't keep such rude pets, visitors wouldn't feel the need to be rude back."

Malfoy shrugged and looked up at the offensive animal. "Father liked flare and with flare comes arrogance."

Hermione wondered if he meant himself or the bird. She did not reply. He turned back towards the manor and nodded.

"Shall we?"

She clutched her purse in her hand and made a point to look straight as she followed him up the stone path. Hedges loomed over her on both sides. Even in the morning light, the place felt clammy and grey. Or maybe that was just her. She took a silent breath.

At the front of the marble porch, he turned left. She looked up the ivy covered walls, confused for a moment. She felt a bit lighter as they moved away from the manor and into the lush gardens Luna had raved about.

   They passed bushes filled with giant roses, the long tentacles of flitterbloom, and what appeared to be the little eyes of mandrakes poking out of clay pots. She took it all in. She had to admit Luna was right; as much as she hated to admit it, the garden was lovely. They walked through an archway of morning glory, leaving the demesticated gardens behind.

Sunlight filtering through the trees glinted off Malfoy's hair, making him an easy guide among the undergrowth that threatened to swallow her after they left the path. They crashed through bushes and wove around trees. She gripped her purse, glad she had packed small as the branches seemed to reach out for her jumper. She could have sworn she heard Malfoy mention a time or two about his broom being easier.

Finally, just as the sun rose to midsky, they pushed their way into a small clearing. A tall black tent took up the entire area. Malfoy gave an audible sigh. Hermione seconded it.

   He held open the tent flap for her and she ducked under. It was like a small flat with a proper dinning room, plush dark couches, and a small kitchen tucked in the corner. Doors on either side led to other rooms. Malfoy joined her in the foyer and slipped his shoes off before going to a couch. She followed suit.

She sat oppisite of him and, not knowing what else to do, began pulling notes out of her bag. Thankfully, when she packed, she had enough good sense to file them correctly in the cabinet. Malfoy watched with a bored expression. She spread papers across the coffee table: papers from her notes, his notes, & their combined effort from the library. He picked up a few.

"What good will all this do? All it did was lead us in the wrong direction."

Hermione looked up, her arm in the bag.

"This way we will know what imformation to dismiss." She pulled out a stack of books that she had borrowed from the Ministry Library.

"More?"

Hermione nodded. "A few that we missed."

He sighed dramatically. Hermione ignored him.

"Fine. But I'm starting a kettle." He got up and went to the kitchen. After the kettle was going, he moved to the pantry.

"What's your poison?" He called.

"Earl Grey with a touch of honey." She replied absently, already burried in a book. She heard rustling and looked up to find him coming back, arms filled with junk food and two cups floating behind him. He dumped the food on the table and sent her cup towards her.

"I thought the whole point of this was to go out and actually look for the creature."

Hermione closed the book. "Alright." She pulled a parchment towards her and picked up her quill.

"Where was the last place you spotted it?"

Draco grabbed a pack of cauldron cakes and ripped it open.  "About half a kilometer from here."

She scribbled it down as he discribed the direction and area.

"When?"

"Five days ago."

"Have you noticed any habitat markers?"

He gave a quizzical look. "I'm not a tracker, Granger."

She about threw her quill down. She was not good at this. Neither of them were.

_ So why, in Merlin's long grey beard, are we even here? _

   They could have done all this right in her office. She reached a slightly shaking hand towards her cup and took a sip.

~*~*~*~

Draco stretched put over his Egyptian cotton sheets. After hours playing fifty questions, more horrid notes, and a small supper, they had called it a night. The day felt wasted. He rolled over and stuffed his face into the pillow.

_ Sleep. Let me sleep _ .

He rolled over again and threw an arm over his eyes.

   Across the tent, he could hear rustling. He had thought Granger had fallen asleep ages ago. She said something but he couldn't make out what.

_ Slytherin's hat, if she is trying to talk to me about the damn notes, I swear _ ...

He swung his legs over the bed and padded his way through the living room. He raised his hand to knock but paused. She murmured again, but this time he heard her.

"Run, Harry! Run!"

The thrashing continued. He started to open the door but thought better of it. Even in the midst of a nightmare, she may not appreciate him bursting into her room. Reluctantly, he turned away.

The next morning she trudged into the kitchen and slowly made a cup of tea from the kettle he had started. He leaned against the counter, sipping from his own mug. She looked ready for the day in her jeans and orange jumper, the front of which had a faded lion roaring. He was half tempted to get out his old scarf if they were going to dress from their alma mater.

Though he wanted to ask about her night, he did not think it was his place. Best not to mention it. He sipped his drink again and grabbed a cream covered bagel from the plate left on the counter. Dotty had apparated with fresh breakfast just mintues before Granger had emerged. He took a bite and waited for her to speak. She sat on a bar stool and seemed to savor her tea. Maybe her night was worse than he had thought.

He began to move away from the kitchen.

"I think we should do some field work today."

He turned back at her words. "Okay."

She took a bagel too, no cream but blueberry filled.

"Yesterday was a waste," she echoed his thoughts between bites. "We need to go search for the thing like we had planned. Backpacking and all that."

He nodded. "So, when?"

She looked up. "As soon as you're ready." He was still in socks where as she had put on hiking boots. He went for his trainers. She grabbed her bag and they headed off.

After that, their days consisted of going over possible paths through the forest, looking at wild berry bushes that he did not know had grown here, and looking for hoof markings around the edge of the pond. They had covered a range of sixteen acres in two days, barely catching a glimpse of the creature.

The third day found them twenty acres from the tent. Granger had a clump of fur the same shade as the deer's and decided they needed to hike through the woods an hour after they usually called it a night.

"How do you know we are even going in the right direction?" Draco grumbled.

"I don't."

_ Great. Just bloody brilliant. Lost in my own back yard. _

   He pushed by another bush and landed shin deep in a mud bog.

   "Bloody hell!"

   Granger spun around.

   "Are you hurt?"   
   He yanked at his wet, muddy leg but it did not give.

   "No." He replied curtly.

   She came about. "What's the problem?"

   He gave a pointed look to his stuck foot.

   She huffed. "Well, are you a wizard or not?" Before he could so much as blink, she whipped out her wand and waved it. The mud vanished around his leg. She scowled at him, hands on her hips.

"I mean,  _ honestly _ , what's the point in having magic if you don't use it properly?"

   He jerked his foot out of the now clean hole. "Yes, Granger, I am a wizard. A damn brilliant one if I do say so myself. And a wizard who will find this creature, with or without your insufferable company.  _ Accio _ , broom!"

   Before she could close her mouth, he was mounted and in the air.

_ Damn witch _ .

~*~*~*~

   Hermione stared at the treetops as Malfoy disappeared through the leaves. Her mouth hung open.

_ He left me _ .

   Heat rose in her face. She did not know what to think.

_ He freaking left me out here _ .

   Anger bubbled up, overcoming the fear and exhaustion that had been her constant companion this week.

   "Agh!!" She threw her hands into the air. "That arse!"

   "Fine." She took a breath and roughly pulled her hair into a giant scrunchy. "Fine. Let him fly about. Go play seeker. I'll find the bloody thing myself!" She stomped off into the wild of Malfoy Estate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	6. Chapter 6

The dark blue sky took all light from the forest as Draco sped across its top. The tent had to be close. He felt like he would fall from his broom if he did not find it soon. A point stuck out of the leaves, barely visable.

He circled, relief seeping into his bones as he dove down. He was barely off his broom when he swept through the flap.

_ Finally! _

He flicked a bug off his arm. His only thoughts were of a shower and bed. He started towards the bathroom, leaving his broom propped against the foyer wall.

"Have a nice flight?"

His feet quit moving.

Sitting on the couch, freshly showered herself if one could believe the wet mass of hair, was Granger. Her arms and legs were crossed. Her back ridged straight. Her eyes fixed on him like an angry cat.

He almost groaned. Of course he was going to get an earful for leaving her in the bloody woods. Years living with his mother should have taught him that! He only hoped Granger was not in a fighting sort of mood. He did not know how well he could stand her punch tonight if she swung.

_Alright. Let's get it over with_.

He shuffled his feet to the living area and leaned against the back of the couch.

    She stood. He braced himself.

"I don't appreciate getting dumped out in the middle of the woods," she said cross.

"We wouldn't have been in the middle of the woods if you hadn't decided on a whim to keep going deeper in."

"We found-"

"Hair," he stated wearily. "We found hair. It probably doesn't even belong to the creature in question."

"It was our first lead. It could have led us right to the deer. You just didn't have the patience to stick with it!"

"It's not like I left to come loaf about! I went in search for the thing as well! Using a faster method!!"

"I had to trek all the way back here with hardly a tell-tale sign of which way was what. At least you had your bloody broom!"

He pushed away from the couch. This is ridiculous.

"It was getting late and dark. Can you see in the dark? Because I can't!"

She placed her hands on her hips and stared him down. "Well, are you a wizard or aren't you?"

Anger rolled over him. He stormed over to her, his face inches from hers. She craned her neck up. Her blazing brown eyes battled with his cool grey.

"Don't question my ability, Granger," he hissed. "I will show you what a wizard can really do."

Her eyes flicker to her wand left sitting on the couch cusion. She shifted her body slightly in anticipation to pounce for it. He blinked. She actually expected him to attack.

The sudden realization deflated him. Though he talked big, he would never hurt her or any other witch. That she believed he would stung.

   He backed away. Confusion filled her face. He just shook his head and walked on to the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would clear his head.

~*~*~*~

A high pitched scream jerked Draco from his dreams. He jumped up. The sheets grabbed his ankles and pulled him down. His elbow hit the hardwood floor, sending a sharp jab of pain up his arm. He struggled to untangle himself as the screaming continued. The sheet ripped as he kicked his feet free. He ran out the door.

This time there was no hesitation. He burst through her door.

She was doubled over on her side, curled around her left arm. Her fingers dug into the skin, drawing blood from the forearm. He rushed over.

Sweat clung to her skin. Her breath came out sharply. He tried to pry her fingers from her arm, but her grip was too strong. He grabbed her shoulders and shook.

"Granger!"

She did not respond. Her eyes squeezed tighter. He shook again.

"Granger!!"

She let out another scream.

"HERMIONE!!"

Not knowing what else to do, he pulled her to him. She thrashed about, trying to shove away but he held tight. He began rocking them back and forth, one hand holding her to him while the other went to her arm.

"Hermione, wake up! Its only a dream!"

He pulled at her fingers again.

"Its only a dream!!"

Excruciatingly slow, her grip loosened. She quit moving. Both hands slid up the front of his shirt to bunch it tightly in her fists. She dug her head into his chest and a sob tore through her. He rocked until she quit shaking.

Draco peeked down at her arm. Four cresent moon indents still bled over a scar that clearly read "mudblood". He winced.

She pulled away suddenly. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair matted to one side. Not thinking, he reached up to smooth it. Her eyes widened at the movement. He dropped his hand.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking away despite her still being in his lap. She did not respond. She only stared at him with a wild, lost gaze.

Draco did not know what to do now. She was awake, no longer screaming, but it did not seem any good. Her nightmare still had a hold of her.

An idea struck him suddenly. Slowly, very carefully as not to spook her, he extracted himself from her grip. He kneeled down at the edge of the bed.

"I want to show you something," he said softly. "I am going to leave the room. Get dressed if you'd like and meet me in the living area."

Then he stood and walked out, leaving her to stare after him.

~*~*~*~

Five minutes later, Hermione stood beside the couch in soft cloth pants and a pull over. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her shoulders slightly bent inward. She was more awake now and very aware of the state Malfoy had seen her in.

She had not had nightmares like that since right after the war, when life was trying to settle back into place. She had thought she was over them, that they would not haunt her now that she had more control over her life. Apparently, she was wrong.

She did not know why she was listening to what Malfoy had suggested, other than the fact that she did not want to be left alone. Bellatrix's face was still very vivid in her mind, almost as if the woman would jump out of the shadows at any second.

"Are you ready?"

She jumped; she hadn't heard him come in.

"What is it, exactly, that we are doing?"

He grabbed his broom and gave a halfhearted smile. "You'll see."

A little hesitant, she followed him out the flap.

The flight was not as bad as she expected. Malfoy kept at a slower speed and held onto her wrists with one hand as she wrapped her arms around his waist. She opened her eyes when they touched ground.

Malfoy climbed off the broom, waving his wand to make it hover before turning to give her a hand. She looked around. He had taken her to the pond. The branches above the water swayed in the breeze. A turtle scurried back into the water at their approach.

Hermione crossed her arms and stood by the broom, unsure. After all the fuss about the dark, why did he bring her here? Malfoy gave no answers as he searched the ground.

Surely we aren't here to look for more hoof prints. Maybe his idea of distraction was more research.

She was just about to open her mouth to ask when he stood straight again. He held up a smooth pebble half the size of his palm.

"Watch this."

He turned towards the pond and skipped the pebble over the water's surface. It jumped to the center of the pond, where it stopped and sunk straight down. It drew up a bit of sand as it landed on the bottom.

Hermione took a step forward, intrigued. The stone was emitting a soft white light. As they watched, the light grew until it lit the whole pond as if the moon were laying at its bottom.

She moved to the edge of the pond and bent down to get a better view. Duckweed and water lilies waved in the light. A turtle left shadows as he swam by.

   Hermione took it all in, a peaceful feeling spreading through her as she wrapped her arms around her knees. Malfoy joined her. They watched the water life for a moment before the light slowly faded. Hermione sighed, resting her head on the top of her knees.

   She looked over to Malfoy to thank him but didn't get that far. All around them, small green dots flitted up from the grass as the last of the light faded from the pond. The air glowed with fireflies. Hermione slowly turned on the spot to enjoy the sight of them. She had never seen so many in one place.

   Some landed near the pond's bank, their lights blinking. Others took to the rocks and trees. Their little clearing seemed to sparkle for all of them. She spun around to Malfoy only to find a few had made home in his hair. The usual platinum blonde glowed lime green.

   She tried not to laugh, but a giggle escaped anyways. His hand paused midair as he brushed them away. His annoyed look changed to surprise then a half smile. They shared a look.

   Hermione was the first to break eye contact as something moved into her line of vision over his shoulder. She grabbed his arm.

   "Draco! Look!"

   His eyes widened at the sudden change and very carefully he turned around.

   The deer was slowly moving into the clearing. Its head tilted up to take in the lights blinking amoung the trees. Its fur seemed to shimmer as it emerged from the bushes. Its tail flickered back and forth, stirring some of the bugs to fly about it. Its big black eyes seemed to reflect it all, even the two humans staring at such an amazing find.

 

*An ancestor enchanted the pond during a courting ritual of another pureblood to shine & attract the bugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	7. Chapter 7

   Ever so slowly, Hermione reached into her back pocket for her wand. She stared intensely at the creature as she waved it wordlessly behind her back. A soft glow emitted from the deer. It widened its eyes and looked around frantically.

  With a paniced beeting sound, it turned tail and bolted from the clearing. Fireflies stirred as it went, lighting the air again.

  "Oh, no!" Draco reached out a hand in a vain attempt to stop the creature. "Ugh!" He turned to Hermione. "We could've had it!"

  She smiled wickedly. "We do."

~*~*~*~

  Minutes later they burst through the tent flap. Draco trailed behind Hermione as she beamed and went on about her first sighting. She spoke so fast, he could hardly keep up.

  She went straight into her bedroom, muttering away. Draco plopped down onto a couch and leaned his head back. His eyes grew heavy. He let them slide shut.

   "- if I could just-"

  He started at the suddenness of her voice. She looked over sheepishly, her arm shoulder-deep in her hand bag.

  "Sorry. I hadn't realized you were sleeping." She rumaged around the bag.

  Draco rolled his shoulders and sat up.

  "No, go on."

  Hermione came to sit oppisite him, much like the previous night. Except this time they were not at each other's throats.

  "I was just saying that I need to find my- ah ha!" She gave a yank and her arm flung unceremoniously out of the bag. She straightened up. In her hand was a plain silver sphere, about the size of a snitch. "Here it is."

  Hermione placed it in the middle of the table. They watched as the sphere hovered an inch above the wood and slowly expanded. The solid form stretched into a web of silver, covering a haze of blue mist. Inside the mist, their deer trotted through the woods.

  Draco leaned in for a better look. "What is this?"

  Hermione smiled. "A magical tracker for unsustainable creatures. I got the idea from radio trackers used by muggles for ceritan species. The spell sends signals back to the sphere, much like radio waves sending to computers. This way we can monitor the creature without disturbing it."

  Draco was not sure what radio waves did or how they sent things to computers, but the aspect of having a way to gather information without trampling through the woods definitely appealed to him.

  Hermione pulled out some parchment and two quills. "Now we watch."

  They settled in and spent the next several hours taking notes. The task quickly wore on Draco's mind. All the creature did was walk and eat. It did not seem to have any notion of where it wandered or any sense of time. Its whole existence seemed to be one lazy stroll.

  Hermione, on the other hand, seemed to thrive with the quill and parchment in her hand. Draco found himself watching her. If the deer did anything unexpected, her eyebrows knitted together. If it happened to interact with another creature (there were more of these than Draco knew lived on the estate), her face would scrunch up with a slight smile to the left side of her mouth. Her eyes never seemed to leave the mist even as her quill scribbled away.

  Hermione's eyes flickered up to him for a second before she looked up completely. "What?"

  He quickly looked back to his parchment.

   "Nothing." He mumbled. "Just thought I saw something in your hair...it was nothing."

  Hermione was not convinced but let the issue go as her eyes dropped to his page. "Is that all you've written?"

  Draco's ears burned in shame but he kept his face impassive. He leaned back. "It's just so boring," he drawled. "All it does is walk about."

  Hermione's face grew hard instantly. He knew he had misspoke. _Shit_.

  "You mean to tell me that after all that complaining about the woods, all the dead ends in the library, all the wrong turns that this case has taken - we've finally got something stable and you find it boring?"

  Draco searched his mind for a response that would not send her off the deep end.

  "Aren't you hungry? Don't you want to eat something?"

  Her eyes did not loose any heat. "No." She picked up her quill. "I want to take notes. I want to learn about this creature. I want to actually get somewhere with this case."

  Without giving him a sideways glance, she went back to work. Feeling utterly dismissed, Draco stood. He was not really hungry but, seeing as he had used that as an excuse, decided to go through with ordering supper anyways. He went to his room.

  The mirror he had gotten from the attic was still sitting on his dresser where he had placed it the night before. He picked it up.

  "Dotty."

  The house-elf's reflection appeared almost instantly.

  "Yes, Master Draco?"

  "I want you to bring us Chickpea and mushroom soup with a bottle of white wine. And make some cheese scones to go with it."

  The house-elf nodded. "Yes, sir. Right away." Her image vanished.

  Draco tossed the mirror back onto the dresser. He looked around for a moment, unsure what to do next. His bed looked very inviting, but he knew Hermione would have another fit if he did not join her soon. He sighed. Leaving the thoughts of sleep behind, he headed back into the living area.

~*~*~*~

  Hermione almost jumped off the couch at the sound of a loud crack. Draco simply looked up from his work.

  "Finally." He muttered, putting his quill down to stretch his fingers over his head. Hermione turned around to find a tiny house-elf scurrying about the kitchen. She wore a black dress with silver buttons and white frills under a bleached white apron. She even had tiny polished black shoes. Hermione looked over inquizatively to Draco.

  He shrugged. "Mother said if the help has to be dressed, then they will be dressed properly."

  Hermione did not know how to respond to this. She thought the outfit absurd but knew that it was not uncommon for people with money to require a specific dress code for their servants. Besides, she also knew this was the best she would get from the Malfoys. At least they had taken notice to the law instead of ignoring it all together.

  Draco made his way to a giant silver pot with claw feet. He lifted the lid. Steam poured out along with a very appealing aroma.

  Hermione found herself wandering over. With the pot of soup, the house-elf had brought a tray of scones and bottle of wine. Hermione took it all in, realizing just how ravenous she was.

  "It smells delicious," she said, smiling. "Thank you."

  The house-elf rung her hands together and looked away quickly. She did not respond to Hermione. Her giant eyes turned to Draco instead.

  "It is to Master's liking?" She squeaked.

  Draco picked up the bottle of wine for inspection.

  "Yes, Dotty. This will do."

  Hermione caught his eyes. Really, was that the best he could do?

  He cleared his throat and looked down at the house-elf. "Thank you."

  Dotty's eyes grew to the size of saucers and she pulled at her ears.

  "Master...Master is welcome."

  "You can go." Draco dismissed her. With another crack, she vanished.

  Draco waved his wand and walked out of the kitchen. The platter, pot, and wine followed him along with two glasses, bowls, silverware, and two cloth napkins. He settled himself at the head of the dark kitchen table and lit the tall black candle at its core. The food and dishes floated over, where they layed out in proper etiquette.

  Hermione stood akwardly by the counter. She had intended on fixing a bowl and returning to her work.

  "Are you going to make me celebrate alone?" Draco called over his shoulder.

  Hermione gave the back of his head a quizzical look. "What are we celebrating?"

  He turned around in his chair with a sly smile.

  "Finding the creature, of course. As you stated earlier, we are finally getting somewhere with this case and should celebrate appropriately."

  She could not believe it. For some profound reason, he was actually enjoying the idea of keeping her from her notes. She almost groaned, but the smell of the soup and scones abated her temper.

  She gave in with a quiet sigh. "Just a second."

  She walked over to the coffee table, where the deer drifted through the underbrush, and waved her wand over her quill and ink bottle. The quill came to life and began taking notes from where Hermione had left off.

  Then she joined Draco at the dinner table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	8. Chapter 8

    This was not what Draco had in mind when he asked Hermione to the table. The room was eerily quiet as their spoons clinked against the bowls.

_     Merlin's Beard!  _ He could actually hear her chewing.

    He took a gulp of wine. There had to be something they could discuss. He knew of one subject, at least, that would get her talking.

    "So...have you read any good books lately?"

    Hermione looked up from her soup bowl. "What?"

    Draco fought a scowl. Apparently she was lost in her own little bubble.

_     Probably still thinking on the damn deer. Doesn't she ever take a break? _

    He calmed himself and tried again. "Books. I was asking you about any books you may have read recently."

    She took a bite of scone, pondering how to answer. "Well, no, not recently."

    Draco was genuinely shocked. "What? The queen bookworm doesn't have anything to say about current literature?"

    Hermione gave a small smile. "Honestly, I haven't had the time. Since the promotion, I've barely had a moment to myself." A dreamy look came over her. "I would love to spend hours browsing the libraries like I used to. To read just for the pleasure of it..."

    She shrugged and the smile returned. "But it is what it is. I enjoy my job. And I really feel like I'm making a difference for those who can't."

    Draco was not sure how to respond to that. He had not felt like he made much of a difference with anything in years, if ever.

    "So you really enjoy cases like this?"

    Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Enjoyed this case?" She chuckled. "Not on your life. But it hasn't been completely horrid like I had imagined."

    Draco laughed as well. "No, it hasn't been the best of times, has it?"

    A naughty thought wandered into his mind.

    "And I imagine your redheaded beau hasn't enjoyed it, either. You being trapped in a tent with another man. The hated Slytherin, at that. He is probably stomping around in a huff about it all." He smirked.

    The smile slipped from her face and Draco knew he had touched a nerve. She went back to her meal.

    "Actually, I have no 'beau', as you say." She said between bites. "Ron and I haven't been together for some years. Things just did not work out."

    "I'm sorry. That was...insensitive of me. I hadn't realized things had ended badly for the two of you."

    She shook her head, bushels of hair tumbling this way and that. "No...I guess I misspoke. Ron and I are still friends. We just were not compatible as...well, partners."

    “Oh...that's good then, I suppose." Draco took a bite of soup to keep from saying anything else stupid.

    “How about you?"

    He dabbed his lips with his napkin.

    “What about me?"

    Hermione took a sip of wine. Her glass was almost empty. Draco looked to his own. It was almost gone as well.

    He picked up the bottle and wordlessly offered some. She nodded. To her apparent surprise, he stood and walked to her end of the table instead of leaning over.

    He knew how to be a gentleman when it counted.

    As he poured her glass, she looked up. The candle light caught her eyes. A tinder of hair fell to the side of her face.

    "Thank you," she said softly.

    "Your welcome."

    He went back to his side of the table.

    "What I was saying is: how are you and Pansy doing? I had heard things were going well for the two of you."

    He pulled his chair in with an awkward smile. "Then you heard wrong."

    "Oh?" Hermione gave him a concerning glance.

    “It was for the best, really. Like you and Weasley, we just did not match up." He laughed as he poured his own glass.

    "Besides, her dancing was atrocious! I mean, you should have seen us at Mother's last Charity Ball. It was like dancing with an octopus!"

    Hermione laughed. Not a fake high pitched squeal like Pansy always did. No, it was loud and heartfelt. It was real. He liked that. Her laugh ended with a warm smile.

    "Ah, dancing," she said, wishfully swirling her wine in her glass. "You know, I haven't really danced since the Yule Ball."

    "No. Really?"

    Hermione nodded as she took a bite of soup, reminding Draco of his own food.

    "No, seriously. Ron did not like that sort of thing. I mean there was a wedding here and there where he would half-heartedly." She began ticking off her fingers. "George and Angelina...Harry and Ginny...Percy and Harold..."

    "Potter married the Weasette?"

    Hermione threw him a look. He took a bite of soup and tried again. Old habits were hard to break.

    "I mean, Potter married the Weasley girl?"

    Hermione gave a small smile and nodded behind her wine glass. "Mm-hmm. Going on four years now. With their second child on the way...Little James is going to be a wonderful big brother."

    Draco felt a stab of jealousy at this. Potter was already married with a devoting family. He wondered if he would ever find the same happiness. Somehow he doubted it.

    He glanced over to Hermione, who had gone quiet.

    "They really are quite happy," she added softly at his look. Her train of thought ended as she stared off into space.

    He was not sure what to say. After a moment, she came back to herself. She did not look at him.

    Instead, she stared down at her plate, though Draco doubted she was actually seeing it. She went back to eating. The subject was dropped.

    Draco felt like he had, somehow, ruined the mood. Wanting to remedy it, he stood, leaving his plate behind.

    He walked over to her and offered his hand. She gave him a skeptical look.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Offing a dance."

    She did not take his hand.

    "I figured it would compliment the meal and give us something fun to do. You've already admitted to missing it." He cocked an eyebrow at her, his hand still between them, open and inviting.

~*~*~*~

    Hermione was not sure what to say. She felt a little curious about dancing with him but also weary. She had been more open tonight than she meant to, but it was becoming increasingly easier to talk to Draco.

    She took a breath and his hand. He smiled, the tip of his lips pulling up just a bit.

    She let him lead her to the open area between the table and couches. He turned on a radio she had not seen sitting in the corner and music poured into the air.

    Draco placed a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. The other hand held hers lightly in the air.

    Time seemed to blend together as they moved from one song to the next. She laughed as he twirled her in one tune and dipped her in the next. 

    As he pulled her up a little too fast, her head swam. She leaned against his shoulder to regain her balance.

    His arm tightened slightly around her waist. She almost snuggled in closer.

    Realizing what she was doing, Hermione pulled back a little. She looked up to him.

    Had his eyes always been so clear and vibrant? His cheeks were a little red from the dancing. His face reflected the confusion she felt.

    He bent down. She did not pull away.

    Draco's lips were soft as silk and warmer than she would have expected.

    She pressed into him, enjoying the feel. His hand trailed down her arm and pressed into the small of her back with the other.

    Hermione's own hands snaked up the back of his neck to curl in his hair.

    Music drifted around them and the candle light burned low. The deer walked through the mist, all but forgotten by its human companions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	9. Chapter 9

  Draco plopped down heavily onto the couch. The past few days had been infuriating to say the least. Hermione had clammed up, returning to her usual stick-in-the-mud attitude.

  He scowled, crossing his arms as he leaned back into the black leather. He should have been taking notes, but honestly he could not care less about the deer at the moment.

  Work, work, work. It was all she said, if she bothered to say anything at all to him.

  He glared at the deer as it came through a berry bush in the mist. He almost wished the damn thing would just leave, disappear, explode even - anything to get it out of his hair. Then she could go too. And he could move on!

  A beetle caught his eye, climbing up the side of his ink bottle. He glared the offensive creature. It wandered onto his parchment. In a fit, he swiped at it. His parchment went airborne. So did the beetle, though it flew off on its own accord and not because of anything Draco did. He swore under his breath, placing the parchment back on the table.

  He rubbed his hands over his face, sighing. It wasn't like him to throw tempertantrums any more. Those days were long behind him, or so he had thought. It was just that...his emotions had the tendency to get away with him. And right now, with all that was going on, he felt...pissed. Just royally ticked at anything and everything.

  He did not know what to expect to happen after the kiss. The two if them to get along better, surely. For them to be a little sweet on one another, possibly. But for her to completely shut him out? That hit him like a slap in the face.

  Draco was pulled out of his self pity wallowing by a door shutting behind him. He turned around to find Hermione dressed in jeans, a jumper, and her hiking boots.

  "Where are you off to?"

  She glanced up from her scarf. Clearly, she hadn't seen him sitting there. Though, where else he should be, he did not know. She walked briskly to the tent's entrance.

  "I've decided to do a little field work," she declared.

  Draco gestured towards her magical tracker. "I thought that was what this was for?"

  She pursed her lips a second.

  "Well, yes. But we aren't getting very far in what the creature is capable of, now are we?" She waved her wand.

   The quill across the table jumped up and began scribbling notes on Draco's blank parchment.

  "Besides, I think it will be best to get first hand sightings of the creature; now that we have a way to track and record it."

  Draco resisted rolling his eyes. It seemed like a good plan, but he wished she would make up her bloody mind. Stay in the tent for note taking, do field work to look for the beast, spend hours with your head poked in a book. He really thought she was more organized than this.

  He cut his eyes to her, trying not to be too obvious in watching her. Something was up. She seemed frazzled.

  Her fidgeting fingers that would not leave the cuff of her jumper alone. Her eyes darting from him to the quill to the deer. Her impatient stance by the door like she couldn't wait to burst through...

  His eyes widened in sudden realization.

  She wanted to get away from him! Being in his mere presence seemed to put her ill at ease.

  Draco's breathing sped up. She had put distance between them these past few days. But maybe it wasn't for the reasons he had thought. He had been sure she had hated his guts for the dancing, the kiss, all of it. Though she had obviously enjoyed it at the time, his mind added with a smirk.

  But what if he were wrong? Maybe her reasoning with keeping him an arm's length away laid in the opposite direction. Could it be that Hermione Granger enjoyed the evening - and, by default, his company - more than he gave credit for?

  Ignoring his silent ponderings, she turned to leave, not acknowledging him in the slightest.

  "Wait!"

  She turned to face him, a scowl deep in place.

  "What is it? I'd like to get some work done before dark." Her tone, though biting, held just a hint of sarcasm.

  Draco did not reply straight away. He waved his wand, casting an auto-record spell on his quill as well, and stood, brushing his pants legs.

  "I'll join you."

  Hermione's eyes widened before narrowing to glare at him.

  "You're not even ready," she accused, looking pointedly to his shoeless feet.

  Draco waved his hand dismissively. "Five minutes, if not less."

  He watched in amusement as her lips tightened a little, looking like she would love nothing more than to deny him.

  "Fine!" She said, folding her arms tightly over her chest. "But hurry up about it. We are wasting daylight."

  Three minutes later, they headed out the door.

~*~*~*~

  They caught up to the deer quick enough. Hermione had cast a spell that merged the information from the tracker to her wand, making it give off a sliver of white light that lead them straight to it. Once they got within ten feet of the creature, the light would disperse, making sure the animal did not catch on to anything.

  As they neared, Hermione waved her wand in the air, muttering a barrier spell. A shimmering dome appeared over head. The deer glanced up for a second before going back to its grazing.

  She and Draco crouched down in the bushes, peering over the leaves to their unsuspecting companion.

  "Well, here goes." She whispered, sitting back on her heels.

  Hermione closed her eyes, a calmness coming about her. She called up memories from Hogwarts, ignoring anything from the previous week that tried to creep into her mind. The Great Hall, the Astronomy Tower, and the Gryffindor Common Room, all of it flooded her thoughts. Then one came forth to claim her completely. 

  "Expecto Patronum!" She exclaimed in a quiet breath.

  A small silver otter poured out of the tip of her wand, dancing around them for a second before a flick of the wrist sent it scurrying out of the thick.

  The deer's ears turned towards the upcoming creature. It looked curiously to the otter and tilted its head. As the otter approached, it sniffed the air. The otter crept up to it. They touched noses.

  Hermione held her breath.

  Then the deer turned away. It took a few steps away and went back to grazing, unfazed.

  Hermione deflated. She hadn't expected much to happen, but had hoped for more than the little scene before her. The patronus vanished with her mood.

  The deer blinked in surprise as the other creature faded. It went to where the otter had stood and looked around, poking its nose into the grass. It lifted its head and pawed at the ground, as if looking for some hidden trick. Finding nothing, it sidestepped the spot and walked a few feet away. Its eyes darted back every few seconds.

  Hermione tried again. She cast muffliato followed by avis. Soon bright yellow canaries perked in the tree branches above them, the bang at their appearance almost no more than the sound of a small cough. The deer peered in their direction warily.

  The canaries took to the air, tweeting back and forth among themselves as they flitted about the trees.

  Hermione leaned forward. She swooped her wand. The birds dipped down, floating in the air around the deer. They chirped in its ears, spun around its head, and blocked its way from the morsels of grass at its feet.

  The deer tossed its head and bayed at them. The birds were relentless. They tightened their circle around its head.

  The deer jerked its head back and forth to get rid of the annoying small flappers. Its horn came close to one. The tip of its tail smacked another, making it poof in cloud of feathers.

  The deer must have seen this from the corner of its eye because its nostrils flared in alarm and it began backing away from the others.

  Hermione gripped her wand. The thought crossed her mind to send the others away, to calm the creature - or at the very least, quit tormenting it. Before she could so much as lift a finger, a bird dived down on its own accord.

  The deer's eyes widened at the small claws coming its way. Hermione made a move to jump up, but found her wrist caught in Draco's strong grip. He was staring ahead, his mouth slightly opened. She jerked her eyes back to the deer.

  The deer's enormous eyes had glazed over. In them, small glowing specs dotted the black, looking like a million stars trapped in each abyss. The birds above it froze mid-air. The ferocious one, her small dive bomber, gave a frightened squak. Then it vanished - poofed without a trace. Yellow dust fell from where it was, though not a feather in sight. The others soon followed suit.

  The deer slowly came to. It looked around frantically before giving a frightened cry and running off into the distance.

  Draco raised his wand and the barrier around them dropped.

  Hermione slumped back to the ground. She pushed her hair back from her face, a small smile forming on her lips. Excitement burned through her veins.

  Her eyes stared at the leaf covered ground beneath her, but her mind played the scene over again in her head. She pushed her hair back again.

  "It defended itself." She blinked. "I mean, it had a basic attack pattern, yes. But when that fell through, it actually used magic! Quite a unique ability...I've never seen anything like it!" She glanced up to Draco, her eyes dancing with joy and newly found knowledge.

  His eyes were narrow, calculating. He seemed to be deep in thought, his fingers pressed into his lips as if to keep them sealed.

  "What?" She asked, the excitement seeping from her a bit. "What's wrong?"

  He blinked up at her, pulled from his thoughts. His hand dropped to the ground. "I was only thinking how good it was that the creature did not know we were the ones infuriating it. I definitely underestimated its power."

   His eye brows creased together as his mouth became a cold thin line.

  Hermione had not thought of it like that. She paused, processing this. If the deer had known about them, would they have faced the same explosion that the birds had?

  She grimaced at the thought but shrugged.

  "Well, it didn't." She stood and wiped her hands on her trousers. "We are fine. Besides, we wouldn't have gotten this information in any other way. Now we have quite a bit to go on."

   She pushed her hair back with both hands, tugging a bit to relieve tension. She let her fingers trail through the fluff.

  "I just need to get my information together..."

   Her thoughts trailed off with her, both leaving Draco behind in the bushes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	10. Chapter 10

  Hermione read over her parchment, blowing on the ink to help it dry. Scattered about the coffee table around her, piles of forms waited for her attention.

   She reached for another, setting this one into the completed pile. Her other quill scribbled away vigorously as a dark figure moved through the mist of her tracker. The deer, now a bit more cautious about its surroundings, bent down to get a drink from the pond. Hermione turned back to her work.

  If she buried herself deep enough, she could ignore the rest of her life. Or, at least, that was the theory. She briefly closed her eyes against the soft tapping of a black shoe across the table.

  Draco sipped calmly on his tea, the only indication of his stress was the ever constant tapping. Tapping that was really beginning to put a strain on her nerves. She took a quiet breath and went back to her form.

  The tapping stopped.

  "How long are we going to do this?"

  She tried not to take the bait.

   Draco sat up, folding his hands together and leaning his forearms on his knees.

  "Hermione. We need to talk."

  She did not look up. "There's nothing to talk about." Her quill kept moving.

  He dropped his head and took an audible breath.

  "We can't keep doing this."

  "Doing what? Work?"

  "No!" He sneered.

  She closed her eyes, willing patience to flood within her.

   Draco ran a hand through his hair, tussling the usually kept locks.

  "No," he repeated, a bit more calmly. "I'm just tired of us walking on eggshells around each other."

  "We aren't. We are working." She glanced up from her parchment. "You know, the thing we originally came out here for?"

  She noticed a slight pull at his lips, almost a frown.

  "Yes," he drawled. "I know what we came here for."

  He sat back. "I just thought..." His voice trailed off.

  But Hermione knew where he was going with it. A jumble of emotions surged through her, anger being the first and foremost. She put her quill down, rather roughly.

  "You thought what, Draco?" She stared hard across the table. Her breathing grew with her temper. Her voice rose with each sentence. Her eyes burned into his.

  "You fancied that one night in one another's arms and I would forget all of it? Forget the insults? The years of hatred? The torchure?"

Her throat caught at the last word. She closed her eyes at the slight sting of tears. She locked her jaw as raw emotions rolled over her. She took a small ragged breath.

  His eyes fell from her face. He paused to take in her words, as well as a steadying breath.

  "Are you the same person you were at fourteen?" He asked, his voice coming out like gravel. "How about at seventeen?"

  She glanced up, narrowing her eyes, but did not say anything. He did not need her to.

  "No...I didn't think so."

  He stood and walked to the kitchen, spanning his hands across the counter. His fingers flexed, balling up and straightening out.

  He was right, she knew. She had changed since their school years; everyone had. The war had made sure of that. At fourteen, she hadn't known what the outcome was going to be, let alone how it would affect her. At seventeen, she was just hoping to stay alive, to keep Harry and Ron safe, to see her parents one last time. Life had changed her.

  And it had changed him too. She knew that now, after spending so many weeks here, in the shadows of Malfoy Manor. Draco was not the same little prick she had grown up despising.

  She looked up at the man before her. His eyes were squeezed shut. His mouth pulled tight. There was pain there. She could see that as clear as day. It made a part of her wanted to reach out to him.

_Maybe_...

  She closed her eyes against such thoughts.

    _No. Things are the way they are_.

  She took a slow, calming breath.

  "Maybe it would be best - for the both of us - if I continued the paperwork from my office."

  He opened his eyes to stare at the counter top. When he looked up, his face was composed and blank. But something had deepened in his eyes. They were steel, no longer the soft smoke she had come to know. He nodded curtly.

  "Yes. Maybe that would be best."

  Without another word, Hermione summoned her things and walked out of the tent. She had to get a better start on all her paperwork if she wanted the creature on file properly. At least, that was why she told herself she was leaving so quickly.

~*~*~*~

  Draco wandered about the gardens, bored out of his mind. The past month had given him something to do, something to focus on. Now that it was over, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. He did not have a job to go rushing back to nor did he have any particularly invigorating hobbies (unless you counted flying, which he didn't. His mind tended to drift when he was in the air).

  So here he was, shuffling his feet and thinking about searching the forest for the deer. Because, yes it was still here. And yes, the Ministry (aka Hermione) was doing all they could to remove it (or so she had stated in her very brief, very professional letter).

  Draco sat down in a patio chair. He looked about the flowers and vines, drumming his fingers on the table. This was what his mother called "idle time". Wasting time was more like it. He hated it.

  He was about to get back up, the thought of rereading potions books from the Malfoy library flitting through his head (anything to keep his mind from running off with him), when a big dark owl landed on the seat beside him.

  It dropped the Daily Prophet on the table and held out a small pouch attached to its leg. Draco paid the bird and reached for the paper as it flew away. He would welcome a distraction at this point.

  He opened it up, already thumbing to the obituaries when an article caught the corner of his eye. A picture of him and Hermione plastered over the front page.

>   
>  **Love Affair between** **  
>  ** **Golden Girl & Death Eater?**

  
  "What?" He almost dropped the paper.

   His eyes took in the first bit of the article, written in a circle around the pair of them dancing.

>   
>    " _ Everyone was a buzz when the romantic side of the Golden Trio ended a few years back, but it came to no surprise to this reporter. Not with Death Eater, Draco Malfoy, lurking around in the shadows. Who knows how long this love affair has been going on? It may be what turned things harsh between Ronald B. Weasley and Hermione J. Granger in the first place _ ...Cont. Page 4)

  
  Draco stared, dumbfounded at the two of them. How had someone taken this photo? They were the only ones in the tent that night...or any other night, for that matter. His mother hadn't even known their location. The only being who had was-

  "Dotty!"

  The house-elf came to the double glass doors immediately, quickly wiping flour on her apron.

  "Yes, Master Draco?"

  He shoved the paper in her face.

  "What do you know about this?!"

  Her eyes grew wide and her ears drooped. "Oh no, Master Draco," she whispered slowly. "Dotty has not seen this..."

  She lowered her head and looked up from under her lashes with big sad eyes. "Does this mean everything is not alright between Master Draco and Miss Granger?"

  Draco jerked the paper back.

   "There is nothing between Ms. Granger and I," he snarled.

  Dotty did not take offense to his tone. Instead, she lowered her eyes. "That is ashame," she whispered, so low that Draco almost missed it.

   He cut his eyes at her then sighed, the breath coming deep from within.

  "Yes, Dotty. Yes, it is."

~*~*~

  Draco paced in the foyer of the manor. Hermione and two field techs from the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures were due at any moment. He was sure by now she had seen the article. Hell, everyone in Wizarding Britain had seen (and apparently discussed) the article.

  Narcissa had casually commented on it after Colette Greengrass had brought it up during Wednesday tea. She asked what was between him and the muggleborn witch. Draco had been forced to tell her the same thing he had told Dotty: that there really wasn't anything between them.

  He was pulled from his thoughts by a slight ding! that alerted the family to intruders at their gate.

  He opened the doors to find Hermione, Creevey, and a little mousie woman coming up the drive. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Hermione's eyes flicked past him and he watched her jaw tighten before she fixed her gaze on him.

  "Mr. Malfoy." She gave a stiff nod.

  Draco's eyebrows came together but he returned her nod. "Granger. Good of you to come back."

  Her eyes widened as if he had made a rude jab at her. He could actually see her bristle. He closed his eyes. This was going to be a long visit.

  Hermione straightened her shoulders and gestured towards the garden gates.

  "Shall we?"

  Draco nodded.

  He lead the way through the kept gardens and into the wilderness like before.

  A few miles in, he couldn't stand it any longer. He glanced back at Hermione, who walked behind him.

  "We need to talk."

  She sighed. "As I said before, there is nothing to talk about." Her voice was hard and her words clipped.

  "This article-"

  "This article is nothing more than a thought up story that witches are narrow enough to believe."

  "Yes, but those narrow witches hang on this Skeeter woman's every word. She has the whole of Britain eating out of the palms of her hands."

  Hermione's eyes blazed.

  "Rita Skeeter is nothing more than a two bit-" She cut herself off with a slight growl.

   She closed her eyes, took a breath, and tried again. "Skeeter is a woman who will go to many heights and push many boundaries to catch the eyes of her readers. Why she choose to target the two of us is beyond me."

  "But how did she get that picture?" Draco asked, not really aiming the question at her but venting his frustrations in general.

  Hermione paused, allowing the two techs to get ahead of them by a few feet. She turned to face him, looking him in the eyes for the first time since she arrived.

  "Look, I don't know how she got it. Honestly, at this point, I don't particularly care. What I do care about is keeping my job. I came here to work, not fuss about some tidbit written by a washed up old woman."

  Misery crept into her eyes as she spoke. Despite her saying otherwise, Draco saw how this endeavor was affecting her. It made him hate the reporter even more.

  "Alright," he allowed. "So what are we doing?"

  Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

  "I had thought that part was obvious."

  She continued after the two techs, who had paused and looked back at her.

  "We are going to capture the deer," she called back over her shoulder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	11. Chapter 11

  "Hermione, this is crazy," Draco growled.

  Over the past few hours, he had grown used to the sideways glances Creevy had thrown him at the use of her first name. He did not care.

_ Let the little tech worry or wonder. _

  The man was grating on his nerves. Constantly walking between him and Hermione. Keeping a pleasant, if not work related, conversation with her as they went. Casting looks over his shoulder like an overprotective chihuahua.

  Draco's hand had itched for his wand the whole trek, but that would not make matters any better. He was sure Hermione's plan needed the tiny man. Besides, he did not need her to be even more sore at him.

  Hermione slowly rose from her kneeling position. Draco's hands tightened into the leaves beneath him.

  Presently, Hermione, in a light purple jumper that offered no camouflage (Draco was sure this was purposely chosen), stood awkwardly in a patch of bushes, slowly making her way to the deer. The creature's attention was not yet on her. One wrong step, the snap of a twig, and all that could change in a heartbeat.

  Meanwhile, Draco and the techs were belly down in the grass, making a half circle around the deer with wands ready.

  Draco ground his teeth as she took a step.

  He had raged when she told him the plan.

_ Live bait! _

  If she hadn't already been in so much danger, he would be tempted to curse her.

_ What is she thinking?! _

  She took another slow step. If the deer acted violently in any way, they were to create a barrier between her and the beast.

  Draco's lips twitched into a snarl.

  He knew his part of the plan was small, that the techs had more of an idea as to what would happen, and it put him more on edge.

  Another step. A gentle rustle of leaves by her hand. The deer turned its head, ears up and alert.

  Draco silently took his wand out as it studied her.

  Its head turned. Its ears flicked back and forth. Ever so slowly, its wide eyes softened at the sight of her. It gave a small beeting noise.

  "I know," Hermione softly called back, as if comforting a child.

  Draco watched in amazement as it took a step towards her.

  Hermione smiled, slowly raising her hand.

  Without notice, Creevy crouched.

  Draco tensed to jump up too but the mousy woman, whose name escaped him, shook her head. He glared at her but listened.

  Another step. The mousy woman crouched.

  Draco was the only one left on his belly. He had never been told to do otherwise.

  He watched as the techs did an odd crouch-walk to close their distance to Hermione and the deer.

  His heart pounded in his head. His eyes bulged. One wrong move from either of them could kill her! He gripped his wand even tighter, the wood threatening to split.

  The thought arose in his mind to cast  _ Petrificus Totalu _ s on the both of them when their wands moved simultaneously.

  They casted a wordless spell that emitted soft lights in the treetops, not unlike the fireflies from so many weeks before.

  The deer's mouth opened in awe as it took in the sight. Its tail swished peacefully.

  Even Draco's own pulse slowed to a lulled beat.

  Hermione spoke softly to the deer and petted its neck in a slow, rhythmic way.

  The creature lowered its head to her. She ran her hand over its forehead, around small horn, and down its jaw.

  Draco watched, as mesmerized as the creature, as her fingers brushed the glossy fur. Seeing the two there, with the glowing lights behind them, seemed surreal. It was like coming across a nymph with her wild pet.

  Then the illusion was broken.

  The mousy woman had lost her balance and landed on her bum with an audible crash. Draco glanced over to see the horror on her face.

  The deer's panicked beeting jerked his attention back to Hermione.

  The deer bucked, swinging its hooves through the air. 

  Hermione raised an arm up to shield herself.

  Draco jumped to his feet, snatching his wand from the dirt.

  The deer lashed out, shredding cloth and skin alike. Hermione, her arm bloody and useless, fell back.

  Draco pushed through the bushes in time to see her raise her wand with the other hand. The deer's eyes widened. Its nostrils flared. He lunged.

  Everything froze.

  Draco, hovering mid air, could see it all. Creevy, standing with his wand motionlessly forming the barrier. The mousy woman, still on her bottom, trying to do the same. Hermione, in the grass, her purple jumper stained red and wand raised.

  The deer. Its wide black eyes speckled like before. Its mouth opened in silent terror. Its horn emitting a silver light.

  Draco's last thought was that they were going to die like Hermione's yellow canaries.

  Then - with a  _ pop! _ \- the deer, Hermione, and Draco disappeared from the clearing.

 

* * *

***** Hermione's original plan was for the techs to subdue the beast. She had her wand tucked into the sleeve of the hand not petting the creature. Once she was sure it was intranced enough, she was going to put an ensnare spell on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	12. Chapter 12

   Her arm throbbed from wrist to elbow. The stinging heat of pain took her breath away. Or maybe that was the falling sensation that caused her stomach to lurch and her chest to seize. At this point, she couldn't tell.

   She held her injured arm close to her chest, blood seeping into her shirt, as the wind rushed from under her.

   She would have liked for it to stop, but the second it did, she regretted it.

   Her breath flew from her lips as she collided with the earth. Her head jerked back on impact, causing stars to temporarily blind her vision as she connected with something. The sickening crack that sounded would have twisted her stomach if she hadn't been so focused on the pain that came with it.

   All at once, everything was still.

   She laid there for a moment, assessing where she hurt and what was not working properly. The answer was everything. She groaned.

   Her groan was answered with another a few feet away.

   As carefully as she could, Hermione eased herself into a sitting position. The world swam with the effort. She took a deep breath and laid back again, wishing the waves in her head would stop.

   The grass to her left rustled as someone rolled over.

   She turned her head and peeked an eye open.

   "Draco?"

   He moaned. She watched his chest rise and fall with deep effort.

   "Where are we?" He managed after a moment.

   Hermione shook her head slightly. "No idea."

   She watched as he pushed himself up. He took a long look around. Something about the set of his mouth had hers turning down.

   "What? What is it?" She forced herself to sit up.

   Her eyes widened. Before her was an open meadow surrounded by heavy woods. But what had really caught her eye made her mind reel.

   Standing before her, staring at the two of them with huge black eyes, were three - not just one, but three - deer-like creatures. They ranged in age, with two adults of different sizes and a young fawn no taller than Hermione's hip. Their fur shimmered in different shades of brown, grey, and black.

   The young one bayed and pranced behind its mother, setting the world into motion.

   The bigger deer, whose horn curled up over the top of his head, reared on his back legs. His tail slashed back and forth as he came down onto his front so hard, his hooves dug into the grass beneath. He pawed at the earth as the smaller adult nudged the fawn away.

   "Hermione." Draco's voice was barely above a whisper. "Run...now!"

   She gapped at the deer.

   The logical part of her mind told her that, from what they had observed of the species so far, they were usually nonviolent. But this deer was not acting to her normal expectations.

   Her breath caught as it swung its horn about in a territorial threat.

    _Oh, shi-_.

   She was yanked to her feet as it charged forward. She had been so focused on the male that she hadn't noticed Draco jump up. That must have been what set the creature off.

   Despite the pain surging through with each step, Hermione ran as fast as she could manage. Draco's firmly clinched hand on her wrist did most of the work.

   They burst through the treeline but did not stop. Dodging trunks and bushes, Draco pulled her along until they were several yards from the meadow.

   Hermione threw a look over her shoulder.

   "Draco, stop!"

   He did not slow down.

   "Draco!"

   She gave a violent tug on her arm, forcing him to glance back at her.

   "What?!"

   "Stop!

   He looked past her and ,seeing as they were no longer being chased, slowed to a stop.

   Hermione took many hearty breaths, trying to force the air into her burning lungs. Her arm was now swollen and her head pounded. She was doing all she could not to fall over.

   Draco did not appear to be in the best of shapes either. He leaned back onto a tree and extended his leg. He raised his pant's leg to find a swollen ankle. It was already changing colors on him. He pursed his lips at the horrid thing.

   "Running on a twist isn't the best idea," Hermione quipped.

   "Yeah, well, we didn't have much of a choice, now did we?" He retorted. "Besides, you're not at your best right now, either."

   His expression softened as he took note of her.

   "Are you okay?"

   She shot him a look.

   "Honestly?"

   He stepped, winced, then stepped again, making his way to her as careful as he could. She met him halfway. Together, the two of them settled into the underbrush to look over their injuries.

   Luckily, Hermione knew a bit of first aid spells, courtesy of Harry's Horcrux Hunt.

   "Let me see that ankle again," she demanded, reminding herself a bit of Madam Pomfrey.

   Draco raised his the hem of his pants.

   Hermione grabbed her wand. She cursed herself for not having her bag with her. She had plenty of potions and tonics that would do better. But a spell would have to suffice.

   She waved the tip of her wand back and forth over his ankle like one would wrap a bandage, muttering the spell under her breath as she did so.

   Draco sighed in relief.

   Hermione eyed it as she finished. It was not perfect, but it would do until they got home...if they got home.

   She shook the thought from her head.

   "Here." Draco held out his hand for her injured arm. Pushing her doubts aside, she carefully pulled it away from her front and allowed him to gently grab hold.

   He cradled it in one hand. Very slowly, he traced the deep cuts with his wand, singing an incantation under his breath. The bleeding stopped. A slight sting filled each slash before immediately soothing as if a balm had been used. Hermione watched as the skin came back together.

   He glanced up, meeting her eyes when he had finished.

   "Thank you," she whispered.

   He shrugged and looked away.

   "When the dark lord and his mates take over your home, you learn a thing or two."

   Hermione nodded. She did not let on that she knew the truth of the spell he used.

   Instead, she looked around for the first time.

   "Where do you suppose we are?"

   Draco's brows knitted together. "Not a clue. The air still has a bit of chill, so maybe we haven't left England."

   He pushed a hand through his hair, sleeking it back. "One thing's for sure: we are no longer on Malfoy Estate."

   Hermione stood. "Well, let's fix that."

   She walked over to him and held out her arm. Draco momentarily blanched at being the one escorted but took hold nonetheless.

   They turned on the spot. An unpleasant lurch took hold of his stomach, but not the usual one associated with apparition.

   They found themselves thrown to the ground.

   "What- ?"

   "Well, that worked swell."

   Draco yanked his arm away and began pacing the small area.

   "This is just great - wonderful even! Not a clue where we are, can't apparate, and I bet the nearest floo is eons away!"

   Hermione let him ramble on. Honestly, it took longer than it should have for him to notice her silence. He shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. His snarky attitude drained from him.

   "Hermione?"

   She did not respond. He moved to sit beside her.

   "There has to be a way for us to return home," she muttered.

   "How? Our apparition is blocked."

   "So you've mentioned."

   "And we don't know where we are."

   Hermione nodded. "Yes, there is that."

   "And the bloody deer is nowhere to be found."

   She blinked, her face scrunching up in confusion.

   "What?"

   "The deer! The reason we're here in this forsaken forest in the first place. I haven't seen it since we landed."

   Suddenly, she shot to her feet. "That's it!" She turned to him. “Draco, you’re brilliant!”

   Mildly amused at her sudden change of attitude, he smirked. “I’m well aware.”

   She ignored him to pace as he did, hands flying in the air as she spoke.

   "If we could find the deer -  _ our _ deer - then maybe I can alter the tracking spell - that is, if it's still in place - to guide us home! I could track the deer to track us, so to speak."

   Draco felt the excitement bubble up, but did his best to hold himself in check.

   "Would that work?"

   She stopped and startled. "What do you mean 'will it work'? Of course it'll work. I designed it!"

   A smile pulled at his lips.

   "No need to get testy now."

   She ignored him and went back to her muttering and pacing.

   "So, here's what we do..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	13. Chapter 13

  Hermione drug her feet along the grass and fallen branches. While she had dressed for outdoors travel, she had not expected to do as much walking as they had today. They had been trudging along for hours, going in random paths only to turn about in a different direction.

  She resisted the muggle urge to hit her wand to get it to work properly. She knew it wouldn't do any good.

  "How much further?"

  Hermione stopped. The thin line that lead them blinked one way then another.

  She gave an irritated sigh before turning to him.

  "Honestly, I haven't got a clue! Some sort of ward is interfering with my spell."

  Draco swore under his breath and ran a hand to sleek his hair back from his face.

  Then he smirked.

  "Figures. This damn place is like a maze of trees. Even our magic is lost here."

  Hermione looked around, feeling a bit hopeless and confused. The two emotions did not set well with her.

  "Now what?" She asked, not really expecting him to know any more than she.

  Of all the people to get lost in the woods, it would be the two of us. At least Luna could follow the sun out or something.

  As she fumed, Draco glanced around. Said sun was setting behind the treeline. The air was growing noticeable cooler. And he had no idea what sort of creatures would be prowling around after dark.

  "We need to find a camp," he suggested.

  Hermione shot him a look.

  "Do I look like I brought a tent with me?"

  He smirked at that.

  "Well, are you a witch or aren't you?"

  Another hour passed before they had found a suitable area. Hermione set a fire and they huddled close to its warmth, hoping the flames and their small wards would be enough to protect them from potential danger.

  She sat down carefully beside him. She wasn't sure what to do now. Today had not gone to plan, to say the least.

  She looked up, watching the sky turn purple through the leaves.

  "How do you do it?"

  She turned to face him.

  "Hmm?"

  "You're just so damn calm. Like nothing in the world is wrong, like we aren't lost in the wilderness with who knows what waiting to attack."

  Hermione gave him a light smile, feeling the irony of the situation hit her all at once.

  "It helps that I've done this before," she reminded him. She turned to look at the fire, not wanting to see his face as he processed this.

  "Things were a bit different back then. I always had Ron or Harry beside me. We had a tent, which was a lot lovelier than not having one, though I'd be hard pressed to admit it then." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Even though we could be caught or dead at any given moment, I had them."

  Silence floated in the air around them.

  She wondered why she had said it. That year had been horrible for him too. An image of him worn thin with lines etched into his face and bags under his hollow eyes as he stared Harry in the face under the commands of his wild aunt floated to the front of her mind. She was sure he didn't want the reminder.

  "You have me." 

  Hermione jerked her head up at his soft spoken words. Her hair tumbled down her back at the sudden movement.

  The way he gazed at her brought flames to her cheeks. The softness in his misty eyes. The way his pale pink lips parted just slightly as he took her in. The sincerity written clear as crystal on his face.

  She found herself moving closer. She would sort through the waves of emotion and confusion later.

  His lips felt like rose petals, so soft and smooth. But she already knew that. She leaned in more. Draco's hands moved slowly up her back, smoothing over her neck, and cupping the back of her head gently as his fingers tangled into her hair. A soft breath escaped her. She closed her eyes as her own hands came to rest at the back of his neck.

  "Hey! What are the two of you doing?"

  They jerked apart. In seconds, they were both on their feet, backs together, wands drawn.

  A man and woman stepped into the firelight. Both wore dark green button ups and long brown trousers covering boots. The woman's braids were pulled back into a big bun, uniformly neat. Both held wands of their own, pointed to Hermione and Draco.

  The man raised an eyebrow to the pair.

  "You are on restricted land. This area is a wildlife sanctuary for magical creatures and mythical beasts. It would be in your best interests to stow your wands and follow us."

  "Under whose authority?"

  The man pulled a badge from his pocket. "The Wildlife Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

  Hermione hesitantly took the badge.

  Relief settled over her shoulders. The Magical Congress Seal shined across the man's identification. Everything looked in order and now she knew where they were.

  Hermione lowered her wand, not missing Draco's bewildered look before he hesitantly followed suit.

  "I am Hermione Granger, Head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, British Division. We were brought here while pursuing an unknown creature, a deer that seems to be quite abundant here."

  The rangers shared a worried look.

  "Pursuing it where exactly?" The witch asked.

  "Wiltshire, England. It appeared and left to its own accord, apparently," Hermione answered, sharing a dry look with Draco.

  The witch let out a small groan and placed her hands on her hips.

  "I told Randal the young buck was gone! Tagged and bagged, my butt!"

  The man cut her off with a look.

  Hermione stepped forward before more could be said.

  "I assume you have a facility nearby?" Her voice held authority even though she did not have jurisdiction here.

  The wizard nodded, stowing his wand in a holder on his leg.

  "Yes, ma'am, we do. If the two of you would like, we can lead the way."

  Hermione looked back to Draco, feeling their luck at the situation had turned in their favor. The sour look on his face suggested otherwise. Nevertheless, he nodded to her questioning look.

   They lowered the wards, which she had found out were not at full power because of the restrictions on the land, and extinguished the fire before following the rangers to their brooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	14. Chapter 14

  Draco looked around the little wooden office. The building itself was small, to say the least, but it was better than being outside in the dark.

_ North America _ .

  He had been surprised to hear they had crossed the Atlantic without alerting Magical Border Control. To make their way into a National Park without detection was almost unheard of.

  "So, how did you get mixed up in all this?"

  Draco turned his attention back to the sandy-haired man sitting behind the desk in front of him. Apparently, this was the "Randal" in question.

  Draco raised an eyebrow to the man, though he did not seem to notice. Randal leaned back in his chair, running a quill through his hands.

  "I mean, I get the witch, being Head of your Magical Creature Division and all, but you're just a regular fellow, right?"

  Draco's jaw tightened. The man was incredibly rude for someone supposedly in charge.

  "The creature in question was on my property," he drawled, purposely sounding as pompous and arrogant as he could.

  Randal nodded and made an odd gesture with his lips. "Okay. Makes sense."

  He snuck a peek to a closed door, where Hermione was freshening up after their stomp through the woods. He leaned forward, placing his hands on top of his desk and lowering his voice.

  "You Brits really know how to grow them, though. I mean, wow, she's a real looker, yeah?"

  He looked Draco over, sizing him up. Neither of the other rangers had said anything about how the two had been found. Randal, being more broad than Draco, sat back with a slight smile.

  "Do you know if she's seeing anyone? Might like to get her floo extension, you know?"

  Draco sneered at the man, fire burning deep in him as he opened his mouth. Randal was spared his acidic reply, however, as Hermione chose that time to reappear.

  Draco took notice of her differences right away. Her clothes, wrinkled and worn a moment ago, looked pressed and fresh from a wash. Her face was now smudge and sweat free, leaving her features open and clean. And her hair was pulled back in a huge ponytail, her tight brown curls bushy and bouncing as she walked.

  Randal seemed to take notice as well, if his stupid smile was anything to go by. Draco wanted nothing more than to hex it right off his smug face.

  Randal stood and extended a hand to offer Hermione a seat next to Draco.

  "Ms. Granger."

  She nodded professionally.

  "Thank you." She settled herself down and turned an expectant gaze to the American.

  "Now, then. What do you propose we do to keep your creatures from passing over international soil again?"

  The smile slipped off the man's face so fast, Draco almost laughed. Clearly, he was not used to women getting right down to business.

  Hermione raised an eyebrow at the man's momentary silence.

  "Surely, you've planned ahead for such possibilities, given the species apparent ability and the sheer number you have on the reserve?"   


 "Well- actually- Given the nature of our creatures-"

  Draco watched the man crumble under Hermione's gaze. The more he stuttered, the more heated she became.

  "You mean to tell me, Mr. Barnes, that even knowing the transporting abilities and territorial behavior of these potentially dangerous beings, you have no plans to prevent such occurrences? What if a male, like the one we encountered upon arriving, had left the reserve?"

  Randal cleared his throat and seemed to quickly gather his thoughts, best he could.

  "I assure you, Ms. Granger, that will not happen. Most of our deer are tracked and monitored." He shrugged lightly. "One buck got away from us, is all. It happens."

  Hermione's hair seemed to plush up and Draco could just about feel the magic seething off of her.

  "Yes, Mr. Barnes, one got away. Maybe you should see to it that it doesn't happen again. Next time one of these creatures ends up on civilian soil in England, you may find yourself speaking to our justice department." She narrowed her eyes on the man. "As I understand it, we have quite a communication setup with your Head Auror for international 'hic-ups' such as this. I don't believe it would abode well for you."

  Randal sat forward, one sandy eyebrow raised. "Are you trying to threaten me, Ms. Granger?"

  Hermione did not break eye contact. "Not at all, Mr. Barnes. Merely informing you of the possibilities."

  Randal nodded, a slight twinkle in his eye. "Duly noted."

  Hermione stood. Assuming they were finishing and leaving, Draco did the same, walking to stand beside her chair.

  "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Barnes," Hermione said politely as she moved away from her seat.

  Randal was quick to stand.

  "Wait." He came around the desk and smiled charmingly to Hermione. "If you are needing a place to stay tonight, until you can get your bearings on what to do next, my door is open."

  He cast Draco a quick look, as if he had forgotten his presence.

  "I'm quite certain we can find other accommodations for your friend."

  Draco scowled, narrowing his eyes.

  _Damn cheeky bastard_.

  He felt a twinge of smugness as Hermione shook her head. That smug feeling swelled when she took a step closer to him and placed a light hand on his arm.

  "No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I'm sure we can manage on our own."

  Draco couldn't help the way his lips turned up at her words. His smile turned into a smirk as he took in Randal's bewildered look.

  Without another word to the man, he made a show of offering Hermione his arm. Ignoring the glares thrown to the back of his head and very much feeling like one of his father's peacocks, he lead her out of the little wooden office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	15. Chapter 15

  Hermione dropped his arm a few feet from the building to throw her hands in the air with an irritated huff.

  "Can you believe that man? What a sleazy, airheaded prat!"

  She began ticking off her fingers, rather roughly. Though amused, Draco was slightly concerned for her fingertips.

  "First, he ignores my attempts to help him cover up  _ his _ mistake. Then, he  _ completely _ dismisses the fact that something needs to be done to contain the creatures! And, finally, he chats me up like I'm some little sloozy!! The nerve of that man!"

  Draco listened to her rant until they made it to the outpost. Before entering Randal's office, he had spoken to the female ranger, Rhonda, about finding appropriate accommodations until the morning. She had told him the wards lowered at the outpost for an apparition point. From there, she showed him a map of the closest town and pointed out a hotel, which, to his dismay, was completely in muggle territory. It couldn't be helped, it seemed. They would just have to sort through the rest in the morning.

  Hermione scowled as the wards rippled around them. She had never been in America and, knowing they could not just apparate home due to continental boundaries, she felt out of sorts. She hadn't had the chance to speak to Draco or learn about his plans for the night before now. Truth be told, she was so riled up by the American git that she hadn't actually considered where they would be sleeping.

  She opened her mouth to discuss this when Draco held up his hand. She puffed up, blood still boiling from her previous encounter, before taking full notice of him for the first time since leaving the office. His face was twisted in concentration, like he was trying very hard to focus on something she could not see.

  The next thing she knew, he grabbed her arm securely in the crook of his. She felt a tug just behind her navel and the undesirable pull of side-along apparition.

  A moment later, she stood under a roadway bridge, clutching to Draco's arm as nausea rolled over her. She closed her eyes to fight it.

  "Are you alright?"

  She nodded, not bothering to look at him just yet.

  "Yes...next time, warn me, won't you?"

  She peeked up to see a slight frown in place and shook her head, waving a hand dismissively.

  "I'm fine. It was just a bit unexpected is all."

  She looked around. The bridge offer much coverage for their sudden appearance. Though there were many vehicles on the road beside them, none slowed down enough to notice the couple coming out of the darkness. She peered around, ignoring the rumble of cars above her head.

  "Draco, where are we?"

  He shrugged.

  "Not a clue." He, too, was looking about. His pale eyebrows were pulled together, creating stress lines on his forehead, and his eyes darted from building to building.

  Hermione shielded her eyes. Each one seemed to be brighter than the rest.

  "Where are we going?" She asked. She recognized a McDonald's and noted that a similar building bore the name Wendy's. There was also two petrol stations and a road leading to a strip of stores, all dark in the windows and closed at this hour.

  Draco glanced behind them.

  "Rhonda told me of a hotel in this area. I was hoping to get us as close as we could, but I'm not exactly seeing it- no, there it is!"

  He pointed to a sign reading Holiday Inn.

  Hermione raised an eyebrow.

  "That's all well and good, but how do you expect us to get rooms at this place? Neither of us were prepared to travel when this happened," she reminded him.

   "Forget knuts and galleons, I don't even have any pounds on me to exchange."

  Draco smirked. "I am a Malfoy, we always have proper currency on hand."

~*~*~*~

  "What do you mean 'there are no rooms available'?"

  The small clerk shrunk away from Draco's harsh tones and he had to remind himself to take a breath.

  While he had been to America with his father once or twice over holiday, he never truly enjoyed the place. He found it to be too loud and fast paced, even the places the pureblood families frequented. On top of his distaste, he did not know the area they were in and felt that it was his job to take care of her in an unknown situation.

  Logically, he knew the clerk could not help their lack of vacancy. But his nerves could not take much more of this. All he wanted was a hot shower and to lie down in a comfortable bed.

  The clerk tapped away on her odd rectangle and looked to the monitor again.

  "Oh!" She glanced up quickly.

  "We do have one room available, actually. It is a smaller suite with two beds and a full bath." She smiled. "Would that be okay?"

  Draco almost groaned. Surely, Hermione would not be comfortable with the idea, but what choice did they have, really?

  He glanced down at her by his side. She had gone rigid at the mention of a single room, but did not complain. At least, not outloud. From the look on her face, he could only imagine what was going through her head. Still...

  He sighed.

  "Yes, that'll be fine."

  The clerk typed away then waited patiently as Draco pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed her a card with American currency on it and signed the paper she gave. Finally, she handed him the little card-key.

  "Enjoy your stay!" She said brightly as they turned away.

   Draco cringed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	16. Chapter 16

  Hermione looked around the lush room. Ruby red comforters with gold designs lined the bed. The dark grey walls had portraits of forest and other natural landscapes. To match, a small potted tree sat in the corner. It was cozy looking, if a little overdone.

  Draco gave the room a once over. His lip curled into a tight sneer.

  "I guess this will have to do."

  Hermione rolled her eyes and went to the bed closest to the window.

  She was happy to find a pen and blank notepad baring the hotel's logo in the nightstand drawer. Sitting back on the bed, she began writing notes on what needed to be done about the deer now that it was (supposedly) safe.

  Seeing that she was preoccupied, Draco sighed softly and retreated to the bathroom for a much wanted shower.

  An hour later found Hermione still scribbling away. She barely glanced up when the bathroom door opened, preferring not to lose her train of thought.

  She felt, rather than seen, Draco move to the opposite bed. He laid down, crossing his ankles. She kept writing.

  She heard his sheets shift. Then again. Finally, he turned to lay on his side, facing her with his head propped up on his arm.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Writing."

  Draco rolled his eyes. "That much is obvious...what are you writing?"

  Hermione glanced up to see if he was serious. Usually, when she told Ron or Harry that she was working, they would quickly shut up and find something else to occupy themselves. Her eyebrows came together as she studied his face.

  He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

  He genuinely seemed interested. Maybe it was the lack of things in the room to occupy his mind. She doubted he watched television, or even knew what it was. And she did not want to be the one to introduce him to it. The questions would surely be abundant and the background noise a distraction...besides, she might get into whatever show he picked.

  She shook her head clear of these misdirected thoughts and looked back to him.

  He had remained silent through her mental pondering but now, at her look, raised an eyebrow.

  "If you don't want to tell me, then I'll find something else to talk about." He made a face. "Just don't make me sit here in silence."

  Hermione looked to her little pages scratched with ink and shrugged.

  "I am making a list of things that need to be done once we are home."

  There was a bit of a pause.

  "And what happens then? When we get home, I mean."

  Hermione studied what she had written. "Well, first off, I am going find out who I need to speak to about keeping these creatures contained. I honestly don't expect Mr. Barnes to do anything properly, if he does anything at all, so I will have to do it to ensure everyone's safety. These creatures need protection and people need to be protected from them."

  Draco nodded. "That's very well said and done, but I was referring to us." He sat up,  crossing his legs underneath himself. His relaxed demeanor slipped away.

  She placed the notebook on the comforter beside her feet and stared at the intrigued designs on its edge. Not knowing what to say, she found it was easier to keep quiet.

  Her eyes flickered to him as he slid off of his bed and closed the difference between them. He sat at the foot of her bed, watching her intensely.

  "Hermione, the charade is up. There is no longer a reason for you to come to my home. There is no longer a reason for us to speak on a regular bases." He licked his lips and continued when she did not speak up.

  "But I'd like to." He slicked his wet hair back, smoothing it in one swipe to fall back away from his face. "Look, I know things haven't always been...hospitable between us."

  She snorted at this. Hospitable, indeed.

  He gave a weak smirk. "Okay. Things were downright horrid between us. But that has changed. You can't deny that."

  He had her there. These last few months had shown just how nice things could be between them. He was no longer hostile towards her, despite their heated spats. But every couple had spats, right?

  She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening. They weren't a couple. Why would she think that?

  She peeked up at him, sitting patiently, watching her, letting her have her mental debate. Or seemingly patient. She noticed how his jaw was rigid and his lips were pulled tight.

  He obviously wanted to be. Did she?

  She chewed her bottom lip.

  "I don't know," she admitted, to herself and to him.

  Draco took a deep breath.

  "Hermione..."

  She raised a hand to stop him.

  "Draco, we can't sidestep everything that has happened between us. Our childhoods were harsh when we interacted. We were thrown to opposite sides in a wild frenzy of a heartless war..."

  She met his eyes. "Despite all that, I have found that I enjoy your company. You are arrogant, annoying, aggravating-

  "Any day now, Granger."

  She raised an eyebrow. "But also funny, challenging, and kind - when you want to be. I can't describe how I feel about the time we have spent together... But I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared."

  "You don't have to be."

  "I know I shouldn't be." She held his gaze. "But I am."

  He scooted closer, pushing her notes aside to meet her face to face. Her chocolate eyes searched his stormy grey.

  "Then let me change that..."

  She could feel his breath on her cheeks as he spoke.

  "I want to make this work between us," he continued. "...but only if you want it to."

  She swallowed tightly against a lump in her throat. Taking a steadying breath, she pushed forward. Her lips melted against his.

  Draco let her lead, not wanting to rush anything.

  He almost groaned when he felt her tongue carefully, slowly tasting his lips. He slipped his to meet hers.

  Her hands curled around the back of his neck, holding tight. He raised one hand to cup her head, fingers tangled once again in her curls. He used the other to keep his weight off of her as she pulled closer, pressing her form against his.

  He nipped at her lip, enjoying the little gasp it provoked. His lips traveled to her jawline, peppering light kisses along the way to her neck. She shuddered underneath him.

  Her hands raked into his hair, pulling him back to her lips.

  He gave a soft chuckle.

  Oh, if only he had know years ago how firey this little Gryffindor could be.

  Draco raised his wand behind his back and wordlessly dimmed the lights as he gave her all of his attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	17. Chapter 17

  "So you slept together."

  Hermione groaned and hid her face into her hands. Leave it to Ginny to be so very blunt.

  "It's quite romantic, don't you think so?" Luna hummed softly.

  "Romantic? It took them getting stuck in America to finally admit they had heat!"

  Hermione shot a look to the kitchen doorway.

  "Ginny! Not so loud!"

  The redhead just waved her hand in the air.

  "Oh, don't worry. Harry and Ron took James out for a bit. There's no one home to hear that HERMIONE KISSED DRACO!"

  At the last few words, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted.

  Luna giggled.

   Hermione rolled her eyes. She knew it would be this way when she told them, but she did not think she could hold it in much longer either.

  It had been a week since they had left America and she was doing all she could not to go crazy with what had happened.

  She wasn't avoiding him, per sé, but she did not go seeking him out either. She felt that she needed some time to...collect her thoughts on the matter.

  And what better way to do so than to have your two female friends bash you about it?

  She groaned again.

  "Oh, come off it, Hermione."

  Ginny turned towards the counter and waved her wand to the kettle. It filled itself with water and went to heat on the stove.

  "It could have been worse," she said, turning back.

  Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? How?"

  Luna tapped her chin thoughtfully.

  "Well, the deer could have killed him - or both of you, really. Then you would have died without knowing his true feelings for you."

  Ginny nodded towards the extraordinary witch with her eyebrows raised.

  "See?" She swiped her hand through the air. "Would not have known a thing!"

  A smile cracked over Hermione's lips. She could not help it. In all this bizarreness, she could still count on these two to bring out the positive, albeit crazy, in the situation.

  "So, what are you going to do now?"

  Hermione sighed, thumping her forehead on the dining table. Tussels of bussy hair covered her face.

  "I honestly have no idea," she grumbled.

  "I find that talking helps," Luna suggested. Hermione missed her sudden hinting tone.

  "Don't you think I've tried? I don't know what to say."

  "Speak from your heart," Ginny suggested, her voice strained a bit.

  Hermione scoffed.

  "And tell him what exactly? 'Oh, hi, Draco. About America, I loved it. And possibly you. Could we snog again, possibly sometime soon?" She rolled her eyes.

  "Well, I suppose so, but only because you asked so nicely."

   It felt as though someone had cast  _ Glacius _ down her spine.

  Hermione jumped up at the drawling tone to find not only Draco in the kitchen doorway, but Harry and Ron also, holding little James by the hand.

  She shot her friends a heated glare.

  Ginny just smirked and Luna shrugged absently.

  Harry, looking a bit put off, pulled James into the room and sat him at the table to remove the boy's coat.

  "We met him in the park after leaving the ice cream parlor," he explained, not looking to anyone. "He looked like he was headed towards your flat, Hermione."

  Ron shoved his way past Draco, roughly bumping his shoulder into the taller wizard.

  "Yeah. Guess now we know why," he grumbled, plopping down at the table and snagging a biscuit from the platter to shove into his mouth. He glared at the blonde as he chewed.

  Draco narrowed his eyes and sneered but straightened up slightly after a pointed look from Ginny.

  He cleared his throat and began unwrapping his scarf as if invited in. Which, of course, he probably was, seeing as he now stood in Harry Potter's kitchen.

  "I wanted to speak to Hermione about our issues alone, but it seems to have become a global affair now."

  "Wasn't it already?" Ron grumbled through mouthful of cookie.

  Ginny popped him on the back of the shoulder, making him flinch.

  Hermione did not know who she was more irritated with: the girls for not warning her, the guys for bringing him straight to her, or Draco himself for apparently marching up to her flat like some backwards lovestruck hero to demand his girl back.

  She glared at all of them, landing lastly on the object of her true turmoil.

  "And you thought what, exactly?" She marched over to him, ignoring the others, and poked him in the chest. "You assumed you could just waltz up to my flat, sweep me off my feet, and everything would be just fine?"

  No put out in the least, he smirked and raised an eyebrow at her close proximity. "Figured it was worth a shot, yes."

  Behind her, someone snorted. Whether it was Ron or Ginny, she did not know.

  She huffed, cutting her eyes at him.

  "Well, you are in for a rude awakening," she snarled. "If you think you can just pick me up and throw me over your shou-"

  "Do you want me?"

  She stopped short, all trace of anger wiped away by the sudden turn of events. She crossed her arms tightly around herself and looked about, trying to avoid his gaze.

  "This really isn't the place to be discussing this," she said instead of replying.

  He gave her a pointed look.

  "I did not choose the location. Are you going to answer the question, Granger?"

  Hermione bit her lip. _Damn him_.

  She looked around again, hoping to stall while she thought.

  To no surprise, her friends seemed very interested in watching her squirm.

  Ginny gave her a vigorous nod. Luna just smiled. Harry, obviously uncomfortable with the whole thing, busied himself with James. He was not looking at them, but Hermione could see where his head was cocked to the side as if anticipating her answer. Ron just glared behind her.

  Taking a calming breath, she turned back to him and met his cloudy silver eyes.

  She blinked. So many emotions swirled in those eyes, so many that mirrored everything she felt inside.

  Not thinking about where they were or who was watching, she raised up on her toes and kissed him.

  Before anyone (including him) could respond, she snaked her hand down to grasp his and pulled away, yanking him down the hall and out the door. They apparated as soon as they were on the stoop, missing Ginny Potter's victory shriek.

~*~*~*~

  Hours later, she curled into him as her bare legs glided across his silk sheets.

  Despite the plunge, she still could not shake the uncertainty threatening to wash over them.

  She drew lazy circles on his chest with a fingernail, her head tucked on his shoulder.

  "Now what?"

  Her voice broke the silence, sounding odd in the big cushiony room.

  He tilted his head to look at her and cocked an eyebrow.

  "Eager for more?"

  She swatted at him, earning nothing but soft chuckles. Sitting up, she gazed down at him.

  With the dark sheets as a backdrop, he seemed almost...celestial. His pale hair seemed to glow on the pillowcase. His chest was pale with faded pink scars spiderwebbed across. His eyes drank her in.

  "Whatever we want," he answered, his grin wiped away for a more serious look.

  Her sat up, positioning the pillow behind him, and pulled her into his arms. She cradled into him gladly.

  "Hermione, this relationship can be whatever we wish it."

  She wasn't so sure.

  He squeezed tight as if sensing this.

  "We will follow no one's expectations but our own."

  He laid his head on top of her's, using the curls for an inviting pillow.

  "And, given another absurd creature does not get in our way, our future will be whatever we make of it."

  Feeling a bit more relaxed at his fluffy words, Hermione laid her head back and melted into him, drifting off as the night awaited them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


	18. Chapter 18

**** Draco peered around the kitchen, arms crossed as he leaned against the counter. He couldn't believe she had dragged him to another one of these gatherings.

  A smirk played on his lips. Of course, she had been quite convincing.

  As if hearing his thoughts, she glanced up from her place beside the Weasley matriarch. They had been preparing some sort of bread wrap with meat and vegetables folded in.

  His eyes flickered down to her hands, remembering how they had twisted in his hair with a delicious kiss just hours ago. He practically growled at the thought.

  His eyes flicked back up to hers. From the heat behind them, she remembered too. With a breath, her expression changed. The message clearly said behave!

  He quirked an eyebrow at that and smirked. Her grin turned mischievous, her chocolate eyes flashing.

  Much to his disappointment, though, Mrs. Weasley turned to her then, catching their little interplay. She pursed her lips but did not comment. Hermione, not the bit abashed, went back to her work, nodding and adding to the culinary conversation.

  And Draco went back to scowling. At least until the hurricane came through the room.

  James, on his very own miniature broom, zoomed through the kitchen, bumping into chairs, bouncing his feet off the cabinet doors, and nearly blowing Draco to the ground as he passed.

  "James Sirius Potter!" Ginny's voice rang down the hall. "What have I told you about riding that in the house?!"

  James stopped near the table, trying and failing to hide behind Mrs. Weasley's robes. His grandmother raised an eyebrow at him.

  "James." She scolded softly.

  The boy smiled guiltily but hopped off the broom.

  Mrs. Weasley smiled and jerked her head for him to run off before his mother, whose steps came stomping down the hall, came in. When Ginny did enter, Mrs. Weasley was back to her cooking and the boy had vanished.

  Draco almost snickered at the knowing look on Potterette's face. A fact she did not seem to miss.

  "Here, Draco."

  Before he could protest, the baby, Albus, was thrust upon him.

  "Hey! What-"

  He fumbled to grab at the baby's head and cradle him carefully before Ginny's hands moved away.

  Smirking, she moved to the stovetop, where a big pot of stew simmered.

  Draco looked down at the tiny human and almost winced. How the devil was he supposed to hold something so small without hurting it?

  He looked up to Hermione for help. His words caught in his throat. Forgetting about her bread, she had been watching him, a soft look clouding her face. Seeing him glance up, she gave a small smile then turned as Mrs. Weasley levitated the loaves to the oven. Draco did not miss the way her eyes flickered back to him.

  His heart sped up and he looked down to the child with new confidence.

  Albus, for his part, stared up with bright green eyes (an annoying trait from his father, no doubt). Draco held a finger out to him. The baby stared at it, his eyes widening for some unknown reason. He reached up, his arms flailing about before he finally grabbed hold with one then the other chubby little hand.

  Draco, surprised to find himself smiling unconsciously at the little tike, forced a sneer, though halfheartedly.

  Albus let out a squeal of delight, his hands letting go to grab at the air.

  "Don't get too chummy, Malfoy. Wouldn't want any of your bad habits to rub off."

  Draco's head jerked up to find Harry entering the kitchen, young James in tow. He had started to strike back when he realized the man was winking at him. He immediately felt stupid.

  Harry wouldn't invite him into his house just to ridicule him. At least, not if he wanted to keep his friendship intact with Hermione.

  "Yeah," came the less joking voice of his ginger shadow. "We don't need a Slytherin in the family."

  Hermione's head snapped up and, if looks could harm, Weasley would be a puddle of goop on the tiles. Harry elbowed him in the ribs.

  Weasley had the decency to look mildly ashamed and threw Draco a forced apologetic smile. Draco kept his own face blank and held his words.

  Albus babbled and blew a raspberry, not liking his attention being taken away. Before Draco could rectify this, though, Hermione scooped the infant out of his arms.

  She held him up, making odd noises in a falsely high-pitch voice before cuddling him close.

_ Mental Note: She has a thing for babies _ .

  A warm glow took over him at the sight of her holding the baby tightly, bouncing him in her arms. She leaned back into him, pressing against his chest and leaned her head slightly into his shoulder. He could have melted.

  Instead, he wrapped an arm around her and accepted a drink from Harry with a nod. As he took a sip, he looked around the room, very aware that he would not have been comfortable in such company a year ago.

  _Merlin's Pants, the little witch has domesticated me!_

  He had to hide a laugh, chuckling behind his glass. Hermione turned around.

  "What?"

  "It's nothing," he assured, though not very convincingly if her suspicious look was anything to go by.

  "Oh! Hermione."

  Both heads turned towards Harry, who sat at the table feeding James a bit of cooled stew.

  "Remember when you asked about Skeeter's article a while back?"

  Hermione gave a sigh, shifting the baby slightly.

  "Yes."

  Harry scooped up another spoon full. "Well, I had Seamus look into it. Turns out her picture and story were first hand."

  Draco's brows came together.

  "What the bloo-"

  He cut himself short as every witch in the room, save Luna, who had just entered with Longbottom, pointedly glared at him. Longbottom snickered as he joined the others at the long table. Weasley joined in, though Longbottom's seemed more friendly by miles. Draco ignored them and tried again.

  "What does that mean? How would she have-"

  "Oh, no."

  He glanced down. "What?" He growled.

  Hermione passed Albus to Luna and ran her hands over her hair with an asperated look.

  "She's an animagus. She can transform into a beetle."

  "What?!"

  Hermione chewed her lip, her mind whizzing behind her eyes.

  "That doesn't explain the photo, though." She waived her hands in the air as if to speed someone along, probably herself.

  "In beetle form, I could see how retaining the information would be easy. We were out in the woods after all."

  Draco nodded, trying to work though it himself. A very vivid memory of attacking a 'poor defenseless' beetle came to mind.

_ Damn old hag _ .

  Harry let them worry through this a moment, an amused smile playing at his lips that both had not noticed. Finally, having enough of it, he spoke up.

  "Apparently, she has developed a new charm. It miniaturized wizarding cameras and eliminates the cloud of smoke." He looked to Hermione. "Like a digital but magic."

  Hermione's eyes widened in understanding while Draco, and the rest of the group, were a bit concerned on what a digital camera was.

  "I'll explain later," she told him dismissively, looking to Harry, her eyes fierce. "Did you get her for anything?"

  Harry nodded. "Oh, yeah. Improper use of magical equipment, going against restrictions on her animagus form, and interfering in the privacy of an official investigation."

  Hermione smiled, looking like a cat who ate the canary.

  "Good."

  Draco, echoing her feelings, smirked.

_ Maybe there's a bit of Slytherin in there after all. _

  
**_~ The End ~_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y

**Author's Note:**

> ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
> 
> Author's Note:  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. Those rights belong to JK Rowling. I am only borrowing her beautiful creations.
> 
> Disclaimer: The savicorn is not my creature, just one I couldn't leave alone. The art for this creature was originally created by Savannah Horrocks: https://pin.it/wxb5avh4gexe6y


End file.
